Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier wants to be re-elected in 2022.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin Around eight weeks before the election of the future Federal President, the FDP leadership has spoken out in favor of Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s second term in office. “Mr. Steinmeier is an outstanding personality and in times of social polarization has made a contribution to the cohesion in our country,” said the FDP federal chairman Christian Lindner on Wednesday in Berlin. “We see with sympathy and great respect that he is ready for the office a second time.”
The FDP parliamentary groups in the federal and state levels had pleaded for Steinmeier to be supported in his candidacy for a second term, according to Lindner. Steinmeier himself must have received the news while he was preparing for an Instagram live chat with soldiers from the German contingent Minusma in Mali – unless the FDP informed him in advance.
He had submitted his application publicly in May and said: “I would like to accompany our country on its way into the future, a future after the pandemic, a future after Corona.” At this point in time, little indicated that a traffic light government was being led from an SPD Chancellor Olaf Scholz could provide the new federal government. Steinmeier’s application seemed bold, but not very promising. When SPD woman Bärbel Bas became President of the Bundestag, the problem of a lack of gender equality in the top offices of the republic was also resolved.
If the Greens, as coalition partners of the SPD and FDP, were to prevent Steinmeier’s election at the Federal Assembly on February 13, there would be an abrupt end to the red-green-yellow harmony. How the Greens position themselves exactly, whether they support Steinmeier or put up their own candidate, was initially unclear.
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However, the chairman of the FDP parliamentary group, Christian Dürr, said on Wednesday that especially in times of crisis, a federal president should have a reconciling effect and integrate. “During the corona pandemic, Frank-Walter Steinmeier sought dialogue with the citizens. He has ensured continuity and I am sure that he will reliably guide the country through this crisis in his second term as well. “
Steinmeier’s renewed application – the long-time SPD politician – met with great approval from the Social Democrats. The SPD chairmen Saskia Esken and Norbert Walter-Borjans declared at the time that they were delighted with the move. Steinmeier has proven in four years as Federal President that he fulfills the highest office in the state with great moral authority. “A second term in office would be a great opportunity.”
In the election in the Federal Assembly, the traffic light parties SPD, Greens and FDP have a majority. Lindner had signaled early on that the FDP would support Steinmeier. His deputy Wolfgang Kubicki even pleaded for a second term in office for Steinmeier in 2019. Reason: “He is doing his job excellently.”
More: Lindner: On behalf of the younger generation