German CSU leader confirms to step down

The leader of the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), Erwin Huber, confirmed yesterday that he was resigning after his party scored its worst result in decades in a state election. "At the special party conference (next month) I will vacate my...

The leader of the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), Erwin Huber, confirmed yesterday that he was resigning after his party scored its worst result in decades in a state election.

"At the special party conference (next month) I will vacate my position," Mr Huber told reporters at a news conference in Munich.

The CSU, sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), lost the absolute majority it had held in the Bavarian parliament for nearly half a century in a vote in the southern state on Sunday. Earlier, party sources said that Mr Huber would step aside and be replaced by Horst Seehofer, Germany's agriculture and consumer minister.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.