Federal President
Traffic light parties have a majority for Steinmeier re-election
Frank-Walter Steinmeier can hope for another term as Federal President. Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s chances of being re-elected are good – but the Greens are still a source of uncertainty.
The traffic light parties have enough votes in the Federal Assembly on February 13th for the re-election of Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the first ballot.
According to research by the German Press Agency, the SPD, Greens and FDP together will send 776 of the 1,472 members to the Federal Assembly. That is 39 more than are needed in the first and second ballots.
The Greens, however, still represent a factor of uncertainty for a second term of office of the 65-year-old head of state. Unlike the FDP leaders, they have not yet clearly committed to Steinmeier.
The Federal Assembly will consist of the 736 members of the Bundestag and an equal number of people who send the 16 state parliaments. 446 of the total of 1472 members will be the CDU and CSU, 389 the SPD, 234 the Greens, 154 the AfD, 153 the FDP, 71 the Left, 18 the Free Voters and 2 the Südschleswigsche Voters’ Association. In addition, there are 5 non-attached members from the Bundestag and the state parliaments.
According to Article 54 of the Basic Law, an absolute majority is required for the first two ballots. That would be 737 votes – the SPD, Greens and FDP have 39 more. If this is not enough, because not all members of the Federal Assembly vote from the Steinmeier government camp, he would be re-elected with a high degree of probability in the third ballot if a simple majority is sufficient. The leadership of the Greens has not yet issued a recommendation for Steinmeier’s second term in office. There is strong sympathy among her for electing a woman to head the state for the first time.