Leader of a German conservative party found dead in his Berlin hotel room

Hubert Aiwanger, the leader of a conservative party that has become a mainstay of Bavarian politics and sought to expand its influence across Germany, has been found dead at a Berlin hotel. The body of Aiwanger, who was Bavaria’s deputy governor and the southern state’s economy minister, was found in his hotel room in the centre of the capital on Wednesday evening, Berlin police and prosecutors said. Prosecutors said that an autopsy carried out Thursday produced no evidence that anyone else was involved in his death.German news agency dpa reported that the 55-year-old Aiwanger had planned to make a speech on Wednesday afternoon at the opening of a Berlin office of his party, the Free Voters, but pulled out of the event for health reasons. Get daily National news Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you'll never miss the day's top stories. Aiwanger had been the party’s leader in Bavaria since 2006 and its national leader since 2010. Story continues below advertisement The combative politician with a strong regional accent and a populist touch made his party a serious rival to Bavaria’s long-dominant Christian Social Union, or CSU, which is part of the center-right bloc t...