The head of the Bavarian Ministry of Finance, Markus Söder, will most likely become Bavaria's next leader replacing CSU leader Horst Seehofer in his office, German media reported.
Söder's candidacy has reportedly been unanimously approved at a meeting of the CSU faction on Monday morning, following Seehofer‘s statement addressing his readiness to step down in the first quarter of 2018.
The next elections into the regional parliament are set to be held in the fall of 2018, but the 68-year-old politician announced that he would be willing to vacate his post earlier.
At the same time, he wants to remain CSU's chairman. The head of the CSU faction, Thomas Kreuzer, told reporters that the renewed nomination of Horst Seehofer as party leader was supported by the majority of its members.
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In 2012, Seehofer had stated that he would retreat from politics in 2018. However, on April 24, he changed his mind and decided to continue his political career with the CSU.
According to Die Welt, the debate whether Horst Seehofer will keep his posts as Bavarian head and CSU chairman started after the party gained only 38.8 percent in the general election. Following the poor results, Seehofer increasingly came under pressure to give up at least one of his two top posts.
Recently, the politician has been actively involved in talks to form a new German government, but so far attempts to create a coalition with other parties have been unsuccessful.
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His reported successor, Markus Söder, has served as Bavarian State Minister for Finance, Regional Development and Home Affairs since 2011.
The politician has been often considered Seehofer's main competitor and possible successor.
