Merkel Backs CSU’s Weber in Race for Top EU Job, Sources Say
- Bavarian party man heads biggest European Parliament caucus
- German leader’s nod kicks off complex race to succeed Juncker
Manfred Weber.
Photographer: Matthias Balk/AFP via Getty Images
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Chancellor Angela Merkel has decided to back a German candidate for the European Commission’s top post, giving her stamp of approval to a member of her Christian Democratic-led party bloc, people familiar with the deliberations said.
Manfred Weber, 46, a member of Bavaria’s ruling Christian Social Union and head of the European People’s Party caucus in the European Parliament, is favored by Merkel as the EPP candidate in the race to replace Jean-Claude Juncker as commission president, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the decision isn’t public.