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Merz says he will nominate Ilse Aigner as Germany’s next president

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, mostly left-leaning (67%).

3 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

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Image via Deutsche WelleHow images are chosenReport this image

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday that he will nominate Ilse Aigner, speaker of the Bavarian state parliament and a member of the Christian Social Union, for Germany’s presidency, which would make her the country’s first woman in the office. Deutsche Welle reports that Frank-Walter Steinmeier steps down when his term ends early next year and that the vote is set for January 30. The CDU and CSU are due to confirm a joint candidate on Monday, and the SPD, the governing coalition partner, has voiced support. Al Jazeera and Bloomberg say she is almost certain to be elected.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. Editors read every story. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he will nominate Ilse Aigner for German president, which would make her the first woman to hold the office.

    Reported byLeft2Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Al Jazeera English, Bloomberg
    Center
    Deutsche Welle

  2. Ilse Aigner is speaker of the Bavarian state parliament and a member of the Christian Social Union.

    Reported byLeft1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Al Jazeera English
    Center
    Deutsche Welle

  3. Frank-Walter Steinmeier steps down when his term ends early next year, and the presidential vote is set for January 30.

    One outletDeutsche Welle· Center

  4. Her nomination is due to be confirmed at a CDU and CSU meeting on Monday.

    Reported byLeft1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Al Jazeera English
    Center
    Deutsche Welle

  5. The SPD, the governing coalition partner, has voiced support for Aigner.

    Reported byLeft1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Al Jazeera English
    Center
    Deutsche Welle

  6. Al Jazeera and Bloomberg say Aigner is almost certain to be formally elected.

    One side only: the leftReported byLeft2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Al Jazeera English, Bloomberg

How each side tells it

Compare views

All three outlets report that Chancellor Merz will nominate Ilse Aigner, a CSU politician, as Germany’s first female president. The left-side outlets stress the historic milestone and her near-certain election, while the center outlet gives the procedural detail: Steinmeier’s departure and the January 30 vote.

  • the left

    2 outlets

    Both left-side headlines lead with Merz’s backing of Aigner and her place in history, with Bloomberg presenting her election as nearly settled.

    Merz Backs Ilse Aigner as Germany’s First Female President
    BloombergLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    1 outlet

    The center headline is a plain news label stating that Merz will nominate Aigner for president, without evaluative wording.

    Germany news: Merz to nominate Aigner for president
    Deutsche WelleCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    No coverage yet

    No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left1

    all but sealing

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right

    Has not covered this story.

In the outlets’ own words

  • Absolutist framing

    all but sealingMore neutral: makes her the likely choice for

    It presents a vote that has not yet been held as almost settled.

    …Merz backed Bavarian Ilse Aigner to become Germany’s first female president, all but sealing her ascent to the country’s highest office next year.

    Used byBloomberg (Left)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

2 outlets

Leads with

  • historic first woman president
  • Merz’s backing
  • near-certain election
See the 2 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • Al Jazeera EnglishLeft

    Chancellor Merz to nominate Aigner as Germany’s first woman president

    Ilse Aigner, speaker of the Bavarian state parliament, belongs to the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) party.

    Read at Al Jazeera English (opens in a new tab)
  • BloombergLeft

    Merz Backs Ilse Aigner as Germany’s First Female President

    Chancellor Friedrich Merz backed Bavarian Ilse Aigner to become Germany’s first female president, Absolutist framing“all but sealing”It presents a vote that has not yet been held as almost settled.More neutral: makes her the likely choice forDisagree with this highlight? her ascent to the country’s highest office next year.

    Read at Bloomberg (opens in a new tab)

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

  • Steinmeier’s departure and term end
  • January 30 election date
  • SPD and Green support
See the headline from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

0 outlets

No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    24 min later

    Its first report, Nov 8, 3:06 PM EST

  • Center

    First to report

    Deutsche Welle, Nov 8, 2:43 PM EST

  • Right

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Deutsche WelleCenterNov 8, 2:43 PM EST
  2. BloombergLeftNov 8, 3:06 PM EST
  3. Al Jazeera EnglishLeftNov 8, 6:39 PM EST

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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