Steinmeier elected German president

[webfact]

Steinmeier elected German president

By Andreas Rinke

REUTERS

 

German president-elect, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, receives congratulations by German Chancellor Angela Merkel after the first round of voting of the German presidential election at the Reichstag in Berlin, February 12, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

 

BERLIN (Reuters) - Former foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was elected Germany's president on Sunday, the 12th person to hold the largely ceremonial post in the post-war era.

 

Steinmeier, a Social Democrat who had served as foreign minister until last month, won 931 of the 1,239 valid votes by lawmakers and representatives of Germany's 16 federal states. There 103 abstentions and 14 votes were invalid.

 

After Bundestag president Norbert Lammert announced the results, all representatives held a standing ovation except for a few dozen members of the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

 

The anti-immigrant AfD, which has no lawmakers in the lower house but holds seats in 10 of Germany's 16 state parliaments, is forecast to be the third-largest party after a general election on Sept. 24.

 

The AfD filed its own candidate, who received 42 votes.

 

"I have faith in him to lead our country in these difficult times," Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is seeking a fourth term, said after the vote.

 

The Kremlin said in a statement that Russian President Vladimir Putin had congratulated Steinmeier in a telegram and invited him to visit Moscow.

 

Steinmeier last year drew criticism when he said NATO's decision to stage military manoeuvres in eastern Europe amounted to "sabre-rattling". His Social Democrats prefer a softer stance towards Russia than Merkel's conservatives.

 

Russia wants the European Union to lift sanctions imposed over its annexation of Crimea and backing of separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.

 

The German constitution mandates that a special assembly is convened to elect presidents. It includes 630 lawmakers in the Bundestag lower house and an equal number of representatives from the federal states.

 

Current President Joachim Gauck steps down on March 18.

 

(Additional reporting by Hans-Edzard Busemann in Berlin and Jack Stubbs in Moscow; Writing by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Susan Fenton and David Evans)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-02-13

 

[Ralf61]

Where is Germany?

[elgordo38]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

"I have faith in him to lead our country in these difficult times," Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is seeking a fourth term, said after the vote.

 

????? When holding a mostly ceremonial position??????

[elgordo38]

53 minutes ago, Ralf61 said:

Where is Germany?

When looking at a world map directly it sits on the RIGHT HAND side of Brussels. 

[elgordo38]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

BERLIN (Reuters) - Former foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was elected Germany's president on Sunday, the 12th person to hold the largely ceremonial post in the post-war era.

From the look of politicians around the world most are taking the largely ceremonial approach in governing.

[soalbundy]

1 hour ago, Ralf61 said:

Where is Germany?

It's where all the good reliable stuff is made.

[soalbundy]

23 minutes ago, elgordo38 said:

????? When holding a mostly ceremonial position??????

The important word is 'mostly' he represents the state and some have been outspoken ( in Germany) and he can represent views that may be liked by the general public but not by the government and so can subtly change certain government policies or at least cause discussion about them

[55Jay]

2 hours ago, Ralf61 said:

Where is Germany?

Just follow the crowd, you'll find it eventually.

 

 

 

 

[rice555]

1 hour ago, soalbundy said:

It's where all the good reliable stuff is made.

Ya, my 45 YO nutmeg greater is still working.

rice555

[Ralf61]

2 hours ago, soalbundy said:

It's where all the good reliable stuff is made.

ah, those VW Diesels with funny CO values, yea, now understand....

[lungmi]

7 hours ago, Ralf61 said:

Where is Germany?

Trump twit post?

[Grouse]

3 hours ago, Ralf61 said:

ah, those VW Diesels with funny CO values, yea, now understand....

Sorry to be a pedant but you misunderstand. The CO levels were correct; it's just that the engine automatically adjusted to the conditions. In the test station. The test is stupid, not VW. You might want to test under maximum load - get real engineers in the EPA......oh, er....

[Opl]

7 hours ago, Ralf61 said:

Where is Germany?

 

 

America First.. Germany second