Horst Seehofer, head of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) party, Saturday evening said he had turned down an offer to resign by federal Economics Minister Michael Glos, according to dpa. Seehofer, who is also prime minister of the southern state of Bavaria, was quoted by a spokesman as having said, "Michael Glos has my trust. I have told Michael Glos by telephone that I am not agreeing to his request." Seehofer said he would hold "personal talks" with Glos in order to discuss the reasons which the Economics Minister had cited in his letter offering to resign. Earlier, sources close to Glos, 64, in Berlin had said he had offered to resign, while the Sunday paper Bild am Sonntag, which said it had obtained a copy of his resignation letter, reported that he spoke of his age and the need for renewal in the CSU ahead of next autumn's national elections. The CSU is the Bavarian sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), which in turn govern Germany in a grand coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD).
