The conservative leader favoured by German voters isn't even running in this week's contest to head up Angela Merkel's party, but he aims to play a pivotal role in determining its candidate to succeed her as chancellor, party sources say.
He may even take on that role himself if the eventual winner of the imminent party vote to replace her flops, according to the sources inside the governing conservative alliance.
Merkel, who steps down after federal elections in September, is heading into the last months of her tenure with her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) squabbling over how to position the party following 15 years of rule marked by her instinct to compromise.