Friedrich Merz (L), leader of Germany's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party shakes hands with party's top candidates for regional elections, Saxony's State Premier Michael Kretschmer (C) and Thuringia's top candidate Mario Voigt (R) after a CDU party leadership meeting on September 2, 2024 in Berlin, a day after regional elections in the eastern federal states of Saxony and Thuringia. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP)