German conservatives Laschet and Soeder both ready to run for chancellor

North Rhine-Westphalia's State Premier and head of Germany's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, Armin Laschet attends a news conference, in Berlin, Germany April 11, 2021. Tobias Schwarz/Pool via REUTERS

BERLIN (Reuters) - The leaders of both Bavaria's Christian Social Union (CSU) and Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) said on Sunday they were both ready to run as the conservative bloc's German chancellor candidate in a September election.

"(CSU leader) Markus Soeder and I had a long conversation before today. We declared our willingness to run for the chancellorship," CDU leader Armin Laschet told a joint news conference, adding they would settle on the candidate soon.