German Chancellor Angela Merkel has declined to comment directly when asked if she thought Bavarian State Premier Markus Soeder was a strong candidate to succeed her. Speaking at a joint news conference with Soeder, Merkel said only that Bavaria has a good leader.

Earlier on Tuesday, they attended a meeting of the wealthy southern state’s cabinet in a castle in the middle of a lake. Soeder and Markus Laschet, premier of North Rhine-Westphalia, are seen as leading candidates for the conservative chancellor ticket.

Merkel’s visit was widely seen as a symbolic coronation of Soeder, Reuters said. However, the chancellor said she would accept invitations from other state premiers.