Sepp Müller Defies Merz in Bid for Saxony-Anhalt CDU Leadership

Sepp Müller, deputy leader of the Union parliamentary group, is running to become CDU state chairman in Saxony-Anhalt, drawing public criticism from Chancellor Friedrich Merz for his pre-election remarks distancing the party from the Left. Müller, 37, had stated days before the state election that the AfD would have a mandate to form a government if poll results became reality, prompting Merz to rebuke him for undermining the party's top candidate. Müller rejects the criticism, saying the majority of his state party supports his position. A member of the Bundestag since 2017, Müller won the Dessau-Wittenberg direct mandate with 34.3 percent of votes, the CDU's best first-vote result in eastern Germany. He is married to CSU parliamentarian Wolfgang Stefinger and has one son.