Should the Free Voters (FW) make their own proposal for the office of Federal President? On this issue, the party has maneuvered itself into an awkward position through internal debates and apparently got caught up in it. Like first of all Munich Mercury had reported, there was a vote in the state parliamentary group last week. FW circles confirmed the SZ the processes in principle.
Apparently she was Aiwanger’s first choice: Eva Gottstein, the state government’s honorary officer.
(Photo: Toni Heigl/Toni Heigl)
According to this, a candidate is said to have been presented by the FW federal and state chairman, Minister of Economics Hubert Aiwanger: Eva Gottstein, 72, honorary officer of the state government, member of parliament since 2008. According to the report, Aiwanger had previously discussed this with the federal leadership and the two other parliamentary groups Germany, Rhineland-Palatinate and Brandenburg have been discussed. The parliamentary group in Munich – the only one that forms a government – is said to have felt ignored and brought education and European politician Tobias Gotthardt, 44, into play as a counting candidate against incumbent Frank-Walter Steinmeier: Gotthardt won the vote against Gottstein.
On Monday there was a lot of anger about the leakage of the cause, nobody wanted to comment openly on inquiries from the parliamentary group, state association and those involved. Aiwanger also made it clear in a nutshell: “Internal issue.”
It is questionable whether Gottstein and Gotthardt still want to
There are just as many good reasons for a proposal to the Federal Assembly on February 13 as against, according to FW circles: A candidacy or a waiver are no harm, one would “neither suffer shipwreck nor gain anything big”. But what is a damage: the impression of a dispute or even speculation about too little home power from Aiwanger in the group. That’s not the case, you can’t “construct” any dissent, especially since the topic is at most a side note. One still hears that a vote is a democratic process, but not worth arguing about.
Apparently, the faction of the Free Voters felt ignored in the state parliament and nominated Tobias Gotthardt for the office of Federal President – against the wishes of their boss.
(Photo: oh)
However, the situation is more complicated: With the decision in the parliamentary group, the matter is actually settled for them – despite their power, the MPs in the state parliament are a cog in the party as a whole. In the course of the expansion of the FW from the once local association to the federal party, there were obviously no routines in agreements and coordination such as those established by other parties. What’s next? It is questionable whether Gottstein and Gotthardt still want to – or anyone.
From television to the head of state? Not quite. Five years ago, the Free Voters achieved a respectable success with Alexander Hold in the Federal Assembly.
(Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa)
The Free Voters have 18 out of 1472 votes in the Federal Assembly. In 2017 they nominated the judge Alexander Hold, today Vice President of the Bavarian state parliament. He had received 25 votes, several more than the FW represented at the time – a respectable success. There has been talk for a long time among volunteers about whether such a scent brand is also needed this time, they wanted to wait and see the developments after the federal elections.
The fact that the CDU and CSU now also want to vote for Steinmeier has apparently inspired the idea of getting some votes in the Union camp with their own proposal and thus perhaps landing a mini-coup. Whether a candidate is necessary at all should also continue to be controversial in the FW. As soon as decisions have been made, it is said that they will be communicated “immediately”.