Ilse Aigner likely to succeed Steinmeier as Germany's president
Ilse Aigner is considered the expected successor to Frank-Walter Steinmeier as Federal President. Politicians across party lines call for the office to demonstrate, above all, integrative strength, while polarization is increasing.
Ilse Aigner is likely to be elected the new Federal President on January 30, succeeding Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The decisive question is what this office demands at a time when the societal center is under pressure and the political camps are moving further apart. The answers are similar across party lines: what is needed above all is the ability to integrate.
Hendrik Wüst (CDU) sees the task as providing orientation and restoring trust in institutions. Cem Özdemir (Greens) calls for a bridge-builder and unifier. When Steinmeier was re-elected in 2021, he had promised to heal wounds. Since then, according to many observers, polarization has not decreased but increased. The expectation placed on the head of state to bridge divides has therefore not become smaller, but greater.
A look back shows how the office can have an effect in crises. After the failure of the Jamaica exploratory talks in 2017, the SPD rejected a coalition with the Union. Steinmeier then invited the party leaders to Schloss Bellevue. In the end, a Grand Coalition of CDU, CSU and SPD emerged. Many regard this episode as an example of how the Federal President can mediate in the background without taking sides himself.
The Basic Law equips the head of state with specific instruments for such situations. Under Article 63, the Federal President proposes a candidate for chancellor to the Bundestag and appoints the chancellor. If no majority is reached, he may appoint a chancellor elected by a plurality or dissolve the Bundestag. Article 68 permits dissolution after a lost confidence vote within 21 days. Especially where majorities are unstable, options without precedent could become relevant.
In the expert debate, the president's role is assessed differently. Political scientist Karl-Rudolf Korte describes the office as a reserve power that becomes visible above all when the other political mechanisms fail. At the same time, there is discussion about the qualifications the future office holder brings. Aigner is an electrical engineer rather than a lawyer, although voices from the expert community would prefer a president with legal training. Training is not unimportant here, as the head of state must make constitutionally sensitive decisions.
These decisions are not prepared at Schloss Bellevue alone. The Federal Office of the President employs more than 200 staff, including its own legal department, which supports the head of state on substantive matters. For the conduct of the office, this infrastructure is decisive, because the president must act quickly and in a legally sound manner in crisis situations. Whether the future president interprets the role of mediator in a similar way to her predecessor will become clear once the election is concluded on January 30.
Source: t-online.de
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