Icon: enlarge
Union politician Spahn, Söder
Photo: Peter Kneffel / picture alliance / dpa
If there is no longer a surprise candidate or a surprising turnaround, then Armin Laschet, Friedrich Merz and Norbert Röttgen will discuss the presidency question among themselves at the CDU party conference in early December.
Many Germans definitely have sympathy for another variant.
43 percent would prefer Health Minister Jens Spahn as a candidate for the CDU chairmanship instead of North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Laschet.
This was the result of a survey by the opinion research institute Civey for SPIEGEL.
The result is even clearer among supporters of the Union parties: More than half are in favor of Spahn instead of Laschet as applicants for the presidency.
With supporters of other parties, the high level of approval among Green sympathizers for such a castling is particularly noticeable.
Spahn decided on a team solution with Laschet in March - and since then has always insisted on sticking to the division of tasks.
Particularly interesting is the view of the Germans on a top Union duo consisting of Jens Spahn as a potential CDU leader and the CSU chairman Markus Söder as a potential candidate for chancellor.
In any case, the Bavarian Prime Minister has long been clearly in the lead in surveys about the candidate for chancellor.
In the new SPIEGEL survey, around 42 percent of the representative respondents now favor a top duo Spahn-Söder, and almost 45 percent don't think much of the team.
The result is much clearer among supporters of the CDU and CSU: a good two thirds see the two as a team as positive.
Here, the verdict among the Greens supporters is around 38 percent more cautious than when asked about Laschet's waiver.
The increased political popularity of Spahn and Söder also has an impact on the SPIEGEL politician staircase.
In the top positions, behind Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (1st place), are three decision-makers who have gained stature in the corona crisis.
In addition to Chancellor Angela Merkel (3rd place), these are Söder (2nd place) and Spahn (4th place).
The health minister increased by four percentage points compared to the April survey and overtook SPD Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz (55 to 49 percent).
This survey by the Kantar opinion research institute of 1005 respondents for SPIEGEL confirms that the electorate is currently particularly interested in top politicians who already have "an important role" - governing can create a reputation.
In contrast, the jobless applicants for the CDU chairmanship, Merz (11th place) and Röttgen (16th place), have a hard time.
However, Armin Laschet does not do better here either (13th place).
Icon: The mirror
