Friday, May 28, 2021
“These are eventful times”
Steinmeier is applying for a second term
By Heike Boese
He is sure of the support of the FDP, and even a prominent left-wing politician is in favor of a second term. Now Federal President Steinmeier is making it official: He wants to stand for election in February 2022.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier wants to apply for a second term in the spring of 2022. In a short statement in the morning in Berlin, the 65-year-old said: “These are eventful times. We are facing important elections, political upheavals and many unanswered questions. I promised to answer one of the unanswered questions about my personal future intentions in good time and to give an answer transparently, and I am happy to do that: I would like to run for a second term as Federal President. “
According to Steinmeier, Germany is at a turning point and he wants to accompany the country on its way into the future.
The next Federal Assembly is expected to meet on February 13, 2022. All members of the Bundestag and the same number of electors from the federal states then elect the new head of state. The composition of the Federal Assembly will depend on the results of the upcoming state elections – and above all on the result of the Bundestag elections this autumn. At the time of the announcement it is clear that Steinmeier made his decision regardless of the outcome of the election in September.
Before the 2017 election, the then governing parties, the SPD, CDU and CSU, agreed on the then Foreign Minister as a joint candidate. In the Federal Assembly, Steinmeier was supported by the FDP, the Greens and the South Schleswig voter association (SSW) and elected with 74.3 percent of the votes in the first ballot.
A few days ago, FDP leader Lindner signaled that the Liberals would support Steinmeier if he should apply for a second term. “The FDP would support him,” said Lindner to the “Spiegel”. The prerequisite, however, is that Steinmeier agree to a second term in office. Steinmeier belongs to the SPD, but leaves his membership – as is usual for federal presidents – dormant.
After Lindner, the left-wing Prime Minister of Thuringia, Bodo Ramelow, had spoken out in favor of Steinmeier’s second term in office. “He managed the country well in the difficult phase of the pandemic,” Ramelow told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. “How he treats people convinces me. We can really use such a personality, especially in the post-pandemic period, when we have to deal with a lot.”
The current term of office of the Federal President ends on March 18, 2022.
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