Merkel Starting to See Former Troublemaker May Be Chancellor

Markus Soeder could make history as first Bavarian chancellor
First he needs to persuade Merkel’s party to give him a chance

WATCH: CDU will select a new leader to succeed Merkel at a virtual congress. Bloomberg’s Raymond Colitt provides background on the three main candidates.(Source: Bloomberg)

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By Arne Delfs

January 15, 2021 at 5:00 AM UTC

Updated on

January 15, 2021 at 8:16 PM UTC

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Each Monday morning at the state chancellery in Munich, officials run through the week’s events and cherry-pick the best PR opportunities for Bavarian Premier Markus Soeder.

Whether it’s a technology conference, a highway opening or the ceremonial tapping of a beer keg, Soeder’s people routinely sideline members of his cabinet to burnish their boss’s image, according to people familiar with the process. Such uncompromising ambition has made the 54-year-old former TV journalist the front-runner to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor after September’s German election.