Germany’s CSU denies report Seehofer to stand down as Bavaria premier

Bavaria’s Christian Social Union (CSU) has denied a German media report on Thursday that Horst Seehofer is to stand down as state premier, Reuters said. Seehofer had been reported by Bayerische Rundfunk to hand over to rival Markus Soeder, but stay on as head of the CSU. A shakeup has been expected as senior CSU members meet on Thursday. However, a spokesman for the CSU described the media report as “absolutely wrong.” Germany is struggling to find a way out of a political crisis caused by the collapse of coalition talks. The CSU is a sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU).