Five lessons from the federal presidential election: harsh words, several “deviants” – and two corona troubles

Frank-Walter Steinmeier remains Federal President.

But there were also surprises around the Federal Assembly - five remarkable findings at a glance.

• The Federal Assembly confirmed Frank-Walter Steinmeier* on Sunday (February 13) as Federal President for a further five years.

• In addition to the expected result, there were also surprises - such as minor deviations in the number of votes for the candidates.

• The topic of Corona also played a major role.

  Also in the form of confusion when entering the Paul-Löbe house.

Berlin/Munich – Germany has a new Federal President*.

Not surprisingly, it is also the old one: the Federal Assembly has confirmed Frank-Walter Steinmeier as German head of state for another five years.

So far so good.

But in addition to the expected result*, Sunday (February 13) also provided some new insights and quite remarkable side notes.

The most important lessons at a glance - from Steinmeier's clear words, to deviants in the electoral body and a test scandal to the pitfalls of a big election in turbulent Corona times.

Presidential election: Steinmeier begins second term with clear words

During his first term as Federal President, Steinmeier was sometimes accused of a lack of rhetorical clarity.

After his re-election, the new-old head of state tried to make a clear statement.

The topic: the Ukraine conflict.

“We are in the midst of a military conflict, a war in Eastern Europe.

And Russia is responsible for that,” he says.

In the eyes of authoritarian rulers, democratic institutions are seen as weak, assemblies like this federal assembly as irrelevant rituals, and democratic decision-making processes as weakness.

But: "I can only warn President Putin: Do not underestimate the strength of democracy!"

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Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier during his speech after the election.

© Wolfgang Kumm/dpa

Steinmeier also made an "appeal" to Vladimir Putin*: loosen the noose around Ukraine's neck.

Join us in finding a way that preserves peace in Europe,” said Steinmeier to the applause of the Federal Assembly*.

Almost exactly eight years ago, the then SPD foreign minister negotiated a solution to the power struggle in Ukraine in Kiev.

But the Federal President also took a fairly clear stance on domestic policy.

"I'm here.

I remain.

As Federal President, I will not shy away from controversy, democracy needs controversy.

But there is a red line.

And that happens with hate and violence.

And we have to keep this red line in this country,” he shouts.

Steinmeier fears that the opponents of democracy will not soften when the pandemic is over at some point.

"You will look for new topics and, above all, new fears."

Federal Assembly: Result in the Federal President election surprised - at least a little

The SPD, Greens, FDP and Union had spoken out in favor of Steinmeier's re-election long before the day of the Federal Assembly.

The outcome of the election was more or less a formality.

Nevertheless, it is worth taking a look at the election result - after all, it is not certain that all members of parliament and those nominated for the assembly will also vote in the interests of "their" parties.

In the end, Steinmeier got 1045 out of 1425 valid votes.

Gerhard Trabert (left candidate) received 96 votes, Max Otte (proposed by the AfD) 140 and Stefanie Gebauer (nominated by the Free Voters) 58 votes.

It is not surprising that here and there a few votes were missing compared to the maximum number of votes for the parties - after all, 1472 delegates would have been entitled to vote in principle.

Some electors had to pass at short notice (

).

However, there were also deviations upwards - with Steinmeier's opponent candidates *.

According to the AfD, it ultimately represented 133 delegates in the Federal Assembly, so there were apparently some bonus votes for its candidate Max Otte.

The same applies to an even greater extent to Trabert, who received 25 more votes than the left could have at most.

Gebauer could only count on 18 votes from Free Voter delegates.

In the best-case scenario, however, Steinmeier could have received more than 1,200 votes from the four supporting parties.

However, the smaller deviations did not change his unchallenged result.

It should also be noted in the election result that several non-affiliated parties were involved, such as former AfD MPs who had resigned or the SSW parliamentarian Stefan Seidler.

Corona and the federal presidential election: Part I - bustle in the Paul-Löbe-Haus arouses suspicion on the internet

Shortly before the second Corona summit of the year, Germany is struggling to find the right level of pandemic-related restrictions.

The planners took a number of precautions for the federal presidential election: the appointment did not take place in the Bundestag plenum but in the Paul-Löbe-Haus.

Larger distances between the seats were the (desired) result.

However, after the first ballot of the Steinmeier re-election at the latest, the human side of the delegates came out: photos showed smaller and larger groups and crowds of people.

The distance of 1.5 meters, that much is certain, was not always maintained.

Some displeasure erupted on Twitter.

"If I were from the event industry, gastronomy or if I had lost my existence due to their measures, I would be a bit angry," it said there, for example.

The Munich CSU MP Bernhard Loos * described the mood in conversation with

* as "uplifting" - but also as "relaxed".

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There was also a bit of a crowd: the Federal Assembly with a mask on Sunday in the Paul-Löbe-Haus.

© Kay Nietfeld/dpa

In fact, in the middle of the pandemic, the Federal Assembly showed qualities as a place for exchange - snapshots on the Internet showed national coach Hansi Flick and CDU leader Friedrich Merz in conversation.

FC Bayern star Leon Goretzka became a selfie magnet.

Former Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU)* was also in high demand.

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) and Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) met for a joint photo with pianist Igor Levit.

At least for a few seconds the distance fell - but not the mask.

Corona and the federal presidential election: Part II - the dispute over the tests

According to the AfD parliamentary group, ex-group leader Alexander Gauland was not allowed to take part in the election, because corona test evidence was not recognized.

Gauland had therefore undergone a spit test under the supervision of faction member and dentist Christina Baum.

Five other AfD members of the Bundestag were tested in the same way, but admitted to the Federal Assembly.

Gauland himself called the events "scandalous".

The Bundestag administration confirmed that Gauland's test had not been recognized.

However, he was offered the opportunity to be tested by the parliamentary doctor without waiting.

The group spokesman also confirmed that MPs had been offered a test on site.

However, he did not know who was using it.

A total of 133 AfD members and celebrities nominated by the party took part in the Federal Assembly.

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Sport was also represented in the federal presidential election: But before national coach Hansi Flick was allowed into the Paul-Löbe-Haus, he, like everyone else, had to do a corona test.

© Wolfgang Kumm/dpa

The little scandal was not entirely unexpected.

The AfD repeatedly quarrels publicly with the Corona rules in the Bundestag.

A parliamentarian from the right-wing populists had also announced in advance that they would not be tested by parliament officials - for fear of pain during the test, as reported by

*.

Nevertheless: Gauland was not the only one who was ultimately denied participation.

More than 70 replacements came into play - partly because delegates with positive corona tests were absent.

A test center was set up in front of the Reichstag - with a capacity of up to 650 tests per hour.

Nevertheless, there were long queues at times on Saturday.

Presidential election: Steinmeier has an impact - at least during his ministerial years

A number of Federal Presidents have left speeches in Germany's collective memory.

Richard von Weizsäcker, for example, who was the first to clearly name May 8, 1945 as the day of "liberation".

Or Roman Herzog with his “jerk speech”.

Steinmeier has not yet had a similarly large impact as Federal President.

Nevertheless, in the days surrounding the election, it became clear that he too had left his mark.

However, the topics of conversation were not entirely positive.

The film "Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush" is currently being shown at the Berlinale.

Director Andreas Dresen appealed to politicians to apologize to former Guantanamo prisoner Murat Kurnaz.

Kurnaz spent several years in the US prison camp in Cuba without being charged.

Steinmeier was head of the chancellery and foreign minister at the time.

Dresen said he found it a pity that the German government did not accept an offer made by the Americans in autumn 2002 to release Kurnaz.

Steinmeier continues to play a role in the Ukraine crisis beyond his current post as German President.

During his time as foreign minister, he proposed that Donbas' special status should apply from the day of local elections in the region.

The so-called Steinmeier formula has still not been incorporated into Ukrainian law.

The entire Minsk Treaty also offers little hope.

Due to many points of contention, many observers no longer see a chance for the peace plan to be implemented in its current form.

For Steinmeier, there could now be a small side mission in his second five years as Federal President: to remember himself permanently with important messages.

His first speech seemed to indicate that he was willing to do so.

Incidentally, SPD leader Lars Klingbeil also wants to count on it.

Steinmeier would "intervene more in socio-political debates" and "give the country more orientation," he speculated on Sunday on the Phoenix TV station.

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