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Markus Söder (archive image)
Photo: Peter Kneffel / dpa
CSU boss Markus Söder landed in Berlin that evening, according to the broadcaster RTL and the "Bild" newspaper.
He had come from Nuremberg in a private jet.
So far, no statements have been received from the CSU and CDU.
In the dispute over the candidate for chancellor for the Union, Söder and his competitor, Armin Laschet CDU, showed no willingness to give in shortly before the deadline that they set themselves.
Both party leaders held confidential talks over the weekend with the aim of presenting their parties with an amicable proposal for a candidate.
Should neither of the two be willing to give up, the decision on Tuesday could fall to the parliamentary group.
CDU boss Laschet recently lost support in his own party.
After the state chiefs of Saxony-Anhalt and Saarland, Michael Kretschmer from Saxony was the third CDU Prime Minister at the weekend who indicated a preference for Söder.
Although he did not speak out clearly in favor of the CSU boss on the ARD, he pointed out that Söder had a lot of advocates in the Saxon CDU, which he could "not suppress".
At the weekend, Söder's supporters made several suggestions on procedures that could pave the way for the CSU leader to run for chancellor despite the clear backing of the CDU top bodies for Laschet: for example, a vote in the parliamentary group or the involvement of the district chairmen of both Union parties.
The Berlin CDU chairman Kai Wegner said on the ARD on Sunday evening with a view to the CDU: "As a candidate for chancellor of the CDU and CSU, the majority wants Markus Söder." He brought a face-saving option into play for Laschet: the party presidencies of the CDU and CSU should jointly speak out in favor of Söder as candidate for chancellor, Laschet could then remain a "strong party leader".
The head of the CDU regional association Hamburg, Christoph Ploß, told the "Rheinische Post": "If there is no agreement, only the parliamentary group as the only joint body of the CDU and CSU can decide on the candidacy for chancellor."
The deputy chairman of the CDU / CSU parliamentary group, Johann Wadephul (CDU), however, expressed concerns about such a procedure.
"I will not agree to a vote in the parliamentary group if my party chairman Armin Laschet does not want that," said Wadephul in the evening on ZDF.
The Hamburg Bundestag member Christoph de Vries, a Söder supporter, proposed a decision on the K question in the “Welt” by a “joint circle of district chairmen of the CDU and CSU”.
In contrast to the CDU presidium and federal executive committee, the district chiefs represent the party in its entirety.
According to party information, the CDU alone has 325 district associations.
Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier (CDU) told the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung" that both applicants could be trusted to lead a government.
That is why the discussion now focuses on "with which of the two we have the best prospects of actually receiving the government mandate for the next four years".
The Union’s vice-parliamentary leader, Carsten Linnemann (CDU), warned urgently against a fight vote in the parliamentary group.
"Otherwise there is a risk of opening trenches that are difficult to fill again," he told the newspapers of the Funke media group.
He personally still stands by Laschet.
bbr / Reuters / AFP / dpa
