German conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz has continued to line up support for his chancellor candidacy in next year’s nationwide election. Merz secured a key endorsement on Monday evening from Hendrik Wüst, the popular premier of the western German state of North Rhine Westphalia and fellow member of the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU). On Tuesday morning, the conservative state premier of Bavaria, Markus Söder, announced that he would join Merz for a joint press conference in Berlin at noon (1000 GMT). It is widely expected that the choice of chancellor candidate will be di…