Federal Minister of Labor Ursula von der Leyen reportedly to become new Federal President. German Chancellor Angela Merkel made a strong case for her party colleague in the coalition round on Tuesday morning, agencies report, citing leading Union circles.
What is now needed is the approval of the FDP and its renunciation of its own candidate for the election on 30 September. June, it says today in the Kolner Stadt-Anzeiger. Bonn political scientist Gerd Langguth has also expressed sympathy for von der Leyen as head of household at Bellevue Palace. "She could hold office with a special human warmth," the professor at Bonn University told the "Passauer Neue Presse" newspaper. As a member of a "party with a C in its name," Saxony-Anhalt's Economics Minister Reiner Haseloff also wants to see "equality of opportunity between the sexes" preserved with von der Leyen's candidacy. She is "a classic conservative politician" because of her commitment to family policy, Haseloff told the "Mitteldeutsche Zeitung" newspaper. Von der Leyen has the ability to win over others and is therefore a good choice.
CSU also raises claims Ex-CSU leader Erwin Huber apparently wants to steer the discussion about filling the highest office of state in a completely different direction. He called on party leaders to think about "whether it might not be time for a CSU candidate after 60 years". The CSU has not yet provided a Federal President, but has played a major role in shaping Germany. This already gives rise to a certain claim to occupy this office one day, he told the "Passauer Neue Presse" – although without naming names. The Minister of Labor herself reacted rather reservedly on Tuesday evening on ZDF to the mention of her name for the high office. "It may be the time for speculation, but a good solution for this country must now be found under great time prere." And therefore it applies to them to be silent.
Commissar Federal President wants non-partisan candidate Meanwhile, the acting president of Germany, Bremen Mayor Jens Bohrnsen (SPD), has for the first time entered the debate on the successor to Horst Kohler and spoken out in favor of a non-partisan candidate. Bohrnsen told the "Hamburger Abendblatt": "Why should we not try to find a suitable candidate beyond party-political affiliations??"The office of the Federal President should not be a result of party-political determinations.
Hamm-Brucher brings former bishop Huber into the conversation Hildegard Hamm-Brucher sees former Berlin bishop Wolfgang Huber as a suitable candidate for the office of German president. The former chairman of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) had made smart statements on church policy as well as overall policy, the politician told the "Suddeutsche Zeitung" (Wednesday edition). Hamm-Brucher: "Such a man would certainly have no illusions and not immediately fall down when criticism comes."Huber's term as bishop of the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia ended after 16 years in November. From 2003 to 2009, he was chairman of the council of the EKD. In March, the 67-year-old theology professor had returned to Berlin from an extended research stay at the "Institute for Advanced Studies" in Stellenbosch, South Africa.Speaking about the profile of Horst Kohler's successor, Hamm-Brucher said that what is needed is someone who has analyzed the political dimensions of the office very precisely and has penetrated the political problems. Hamm-Brucher was the FDP's candidate for head of state in the 1994 German presidential election. She did not run against CDU candidate Roman Herzog in the decisive third round of voting. In September 2002, she resigned from the FDP after 54 years of service.