Hessian Minister-President Boris Rhein (CDU) urged his party to give more consideration to its own candidates during the current reform debates. “It’s always a good recipe for winning elections” he told Focus, adding, “our candidates should at least have the chance to break through with their topics and ideas”.

Looking ahead to the CDU party conference this weekend, Rhein warned against premature speculation. “We should first see what the commissions decide before we start arguing again” he said. “That’s become a habit in Berlin”.

He concluded that concrete discussions should wait until the results are available. “Only then can we speak precisely about the direction these discussions should take”.