German presidential election, 2010
On 30 June 2010, the 14th Federal Assembly elected in the Reichstag building in Berlin, Christian Wulff (CDU ) as successor to the retiring President Horst Köhler.
Background and election date
On 31 May 2010 joined with Horst Köhler for the first time a German Federal President, with immediate effect from his office. According to Article 54 paragraph 4 of the Basic Law (GG) had to convene the Federal Assembly for the election of the Federal President no later than 30 days after the resignation. It was accordingly convened by the for in § 1 BPräsWahlG competent President of the Bundestag, Norbert Lammert, June 30, 2010.
Candidates
For Federal President is selectable according to Article 54 paragraph 1 GG, who owns a German citizen the right to vote in the Bundestag and is at least 40 years old. Nominations may be submitted each member of the Federal Assembly; the written consent of the nominee shall be accompanied by § 9 section 1 BPräsWahlG.
- The coalition government in the federal government of CDU, CSU and FDP agreed Horst Koehler's resignation four days after the minister of Lower Saxony Christian Wulff (CDU ) as candidates.
- SPD and Alliance 90/The Greens agreed on the first Federal Commissioner for the Records of the State Security Service Joachim Gauck (independent). A majority of the electors of the Free Voters and the choice of the woman Südschleswiger voters Association declared to support Gauck. Individual members of the Federal Assembly from among the ranks of the FDP announced that they would vote for Gauck.
- The Left Party presented its Member of Parliament Luc Jochimsen on as a candidate.
- The NPD nominated, as already in the 2009 elections, the NPD member Frank Rennick.
In the pre-election opinion polls have been conducted among the population about the candidates, although the President is not elected in a direct election by the people. These surveys found a great deal of media attention. In a survey of infrastructure dimap on 14 and June 15, 2010 's preferred 43 percent of respondents Joachim Gauck, 37 percent Christian Wulff and 2 percent Luc Jochimsen. After the fourth candidate, Frank Rennick, was not asked.
Joachim Gauck
Luc Jochimsen
Frank Rennick
Federal Assembly
The Federal Assembly was conducted in accordance with § 8 BPräsWahlG of the President of the Bundestag, Norbert Lammert.
According to Article 54 paragraph 5 of the Basic Law is elected, who " receives the votes of a majority of the members of the Federal Assembly " in the first or second ballot. In 2010, this 623 votes necessary. In the subsequent ballots, the candidate is elected with the most votes. The federal government supporting parties CDU, CSU and FDP featured 644 of the 1244 members of the Federal Assembly, which had the following in detail:
Election result
In the first and second ballot no candidate achieved the required absolute majority. Then Luc Jochimsen and Frank Rennick no longer stood as candidates. The Left announced that the majority of their choice people would include in the third ballot. The three NPD electors announced that they now vote for Gauck. In the third ballot Christian Wulff reached with 625 votes, the absolute majority ( 494 votes for Gauck and 121 abstentions ). With regard to article 55, paragraph 1 of the Basic Law, he then submitted his office as Prime Minister of Lower Saxony before he declared the acceptance of the election. His swearing-in as President, took place on 2 July 2010.
Debate on the election
With Joachim Gauck a candidate has been nominated by the SPD and Alliance 90/The Greens, who enjoys great prestige in the camp of the CDU / CSU and FDP.
Holger Zastrow, Torsten autumn and Tino Günther from the Saxon FDP parliamentary group and the Bremer FDP leader Oliver Möllenstädt announced openly to vote in the Federal Assembly for Joachim Gauck. Three members of the CDU in Saxony's state parliament voted in the election of representatives in the Federal Assembly for the list of opposition, two remained the vote away and gave an invalid vote. SPD and B'90 / Green why could each appoint an elector more than forecast.
Several high CDU politicians expressed their displeasure openly about the fact that the coalition government does not even Joachim Gauck have nominated, but announced that they would still vote for Wulff. Against this background, the continued existence of the governing coalition of CDU and FDP of commentators has been made several times depending on the choice of the Federal President Wulff. This led to debates about the admissibility of a link of choice with questions of party politics and the freedom of conscience of the members of the Federal Assembly. The former Saxon Prime Minister Kurt Biedenkopf urged Chancellor Angela Merkel in a newspaper article, to let the CDU members free choice. Even former Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker called to pick up the whip in the election. Past-President Roman Herzog expressed in SWR that he understood Biedenkopf demand not because the secret ballot and the composition of the Federal Assembly safe spot from the outset that the voting decision of each member "completely free" is. Party discipline is not practicable in the Federal Assembly.
Luc Jochimsen said in an interview in Hamburg Evening Journal of 17 June 2010 of Gauck was an advocate of the Bundeswehr mission in Afghanistan, and as someone who, when dealing with citizens of the former GDR did not conciliatory, the left think is unnecessary for this nor selectable as Wulff. "That would not suddenly change in a third ballot. "