Aiwanger's free voters are now sending a woman against Steinmeier in the race - after internal wrangling

Created: 02/04/2022, 09:30 am

Hubert Aiwanger: His free voters nominate their own candidate for the election of the Federal President © Tobias Hase/dpa (archive image)

Ten days before election day, the Free Voters now have their own candidate for the Federal President.

However, some internal squabbles preceded their freestyle.

Berlin – The free voters are now nominating their own candidate for the federal presidential election on February 13*: the physicist Stefanie Gebauer from Kremmen in Brandenburg.

This was announced by the Free Voters on Thursday evening

.

The party of Bavaria's Deputy Prime Minister Hubert Aiwanger is apparently also ending an internal dispute.

The 41-year-old is "a young power woman in her early 40s from local politics, studied physics, who stands for the political center, taking responsibility and optimism about the future," said party leader Aiwanger.

The parliamentary groups from Bavaria, Rhineland-Palatinate and Brandenburg also unanimously advocated Gebauer.

However: In the Federal Assembly, the free voters are only a small minority.

Gebauer as candidate of the Free Voters for the office of Federal President: "More necessary than ever"

Gebauer is chairwoman of the city council in Kremmen and has been a research assistant in the Brandenburg parliamentary group since 2021.

"Precisely because I don't come from Berlin's political scene, I see that being close to the people and the will to engage in real dialogue are more necessary than ever," she said, according to a statement by the Free Voters.

“Unfortunately, this will has been increasingly lost in recent years.

I want to encourage people and especially women to take responsibility.”

The Free Voters send a total of 18 electors to the Federal Assembly* on February 13th.

The re-election of incumbent Frank-Walter Steinmeier is considered completely certain there - in addition to the traffic light parties, the Union has also signaled its support.

Stefanie Gebauer, physicist from Kremmen in Brandenburg: The Free Voters nominate the 41-year-old as their own candidate for the federal presidential election on February 13.

© -/Free Voters/dpa

The Federal Assembly elects the Federal President: Gebauer as a candidate for the Free Voters

Before Gebauer's freestyle, there had been some quarrels among the free voters: As reported by the

, Aiwanger had first proposed the Bavarian member of the state parliament Eva Gottstein as a candidate* - and had therefore already "explored" this with his party colleagues in Rhineland-Palatinate and Brandenburg. .

However, he did not get through with the Bavarian parliamentary group: At first there was resistance to sending anyone into the race at all, and then MP Tobias Gotthardt prevailed in a vote against Gottstein.

Gotthardt, in turn, finally withdrew voluntarily - and after suggestions for personnel from several federal states, Gebauer was unanimously nominated in the end.

Steinmeier has the best chance of more years as Federal President - but not the only candidate

In the 2017 federal presidential election, the free voters, also a small minority at the time, nominated a well-known face as a candidate: At that time, the Bavarian state parliamentarian and former TV judge Alexander Hold stood for election.

Steinmeier had previously had two opponents*.

The left and AfD have already nominated candidates for the election for the office of Federal President: Gerhard Trabert and Max Otte are running for them.