German Economics Minister Michael Glos will be replaced by the secretary general of his Christian Social Union (CSU), a Munich newspaper reported Sunday, according to dpa. The Abendzeitung said Chancellor Angela Merkel had agreed to the choice of Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg as a replacement for Glos, 64, who on Saturday announced his intention to leave the cabinet. Guttenberg was picked by CSU chairman Horst Seehofer, who initially rejected Glos' resignation bid and told him he would have to remain in office until after the September 27 general election. There was no official confirmation for the Abendzeitung report, which came after frenzied activity within the CSU, the Bavarian sister party of Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), to find a replacement for Glos. In a resignation letter to Seehofer, Glos cited his age and the need for the CSU, after disappointing state election results last September, to renew itself ahead of the national polls. Sources within the CSU said the minister's poor relations with Seehofer apparently prompted him to write the letter. Formally, Merkel is responsible for cabinet appointments, but in line with tradition, the parties in the ruling coalition propose replacements for their own members who leave the government. Glos has headed the economics ministry since November 2005 when the CDU and CSU took office in a grand coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD).
