Session of the House of Representatives on the Giffey election started

Created: 12/21/2021Updated: 12/21/2021, 10:09 AM

Franziska Giffey goes on stage at the Berlin SPD state party conference.

© Annette Riedl / dpa

The meeting of the Berlin House of Representatives for the election of the new governing mayor began on Thursday morning with empty Senate benches.

The seats in the plenary, where the head of government, senators and state secretaries normally sit, initially remained vacant.

Only after they were sworn in should the ten senators of the new red-green-red Senate and the designated governing mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) sit there.

Berlin - The election of Giffey was planned as the first item on the agenda in parliament.

Several members of the Giffeys family, including her father, brother and son, watched the events in a visitor gallery.

The party and parliamentary group leaders of the SPD, Left and Greens had already signed the coalition agreement before the meeting.

The three parties have been ruling together in Berlin since 2016.

dpa