In Germany, CDU’s election defeats have put North Rhine-Westphalia Premier Hendrik Wüst forward as a possible successor to Friedrich Merz. According to the Financial Times, some CDU members believe Merz is approaching the end of his political career, while Der Spiegel described him as a “transitional chancellor.”
The 51-year-old Wüst is being cautious in the race for the chancellorship. Elections will be held in April in North Rhine-Westphalia, where approximately 18 million people live. Support for CDU stands at around 29%, while support for AfD is around 22%. Losing the state is seen as a major blow for CDU.
Ursula Münch presented Wüst as an alternative to Merz, but his lack of foreign policy experience is considered a weakness. According to experts, winning the election would not guarantee his move to Berlin. In another scenario, Wüst could take over CDU leadership and the party’s candidacy for chancellor ahead of the 2029 federal elections while Merz remains chancellor. Markus Söder is also among the possible rivals. Although pressure on Merz to resign increased after the weekend’s elections, the chancellor rejected this option. Wüst said that Turkish workers had contributed to Germany’s prosperity and that approximately 1 million people of Turkish origin live in the state.
Why it matters
The debate within CDU is putting not only Friedrich Merz’s position but also the party’s leadership structure at the federal level on the agenda. The election in North Rhine-Westphalia will measure Wüst’s political weight in his own state while also revealing CDU’s position vis-à-vis AfD. However, a possible success would not automatically mean Wüst moving to Berlin; his foreign policy experience and rivals within the party stand out as the main constraints ahead of him. The key uncertainty, therefore, is whether a change in leadership will take place immediately or turn into a preparatory period postponed until the 2029 federal elections. Wüst’s emphasis on the contribution of Turkish workers also brings the voter context in the state, where approximately 1 million people of Turkish origin live, into the discussion.
Background
Türk is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: we have published 5 articles mentioning this name in the last 90 days; the most recent is dated September 15, 2026.