German govt in talks on new president

18 Feb 2012, 9:23 pm   -   Source: AAP
Share This
Christian Wulff with Chancellor Angela Merkel. (Getty)

Christian Wulff with Chancellor Angela Merkel. (Getty)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is meeting with leaders from the coalition government to choose a new president.

RELATED

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is meeting with leaders from the coalition government to choose a successor to president Christian Wulff, who resigned over corruption allegations.

Wulff had earlier quit with immediate effect from the largely ceremonial post, after prosecutors applied for his immunity to be lifted to allow them to investigate allegations that he took favours from wealthy friends.

Merkel, who had picked Wulff from within her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) for the job in 2010, was meeting in the chancellery in Berlin with the head of the Christian Social Union (CSU), Horst Seehofer, and Free Democratic Party (FDP) leader Philipp Roesler.

Discussions are expected to last several hours and Merkel is likely to present a candidate by the start of the week.

She is also expected to consult with the opposition Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Greens.

Potential candidates include Defence Minister Thomas de Maiziere, Environment Minister Klaus Toepfer, Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen, constitutional court president Andreas Vosskuhle and Greens politician Katrin Goering-Eckardt.

SPD leader Sigmar Gabriel has said he wants Wulff to be succeeded by Joachim Gauck, a former East German anti-communist campaigner.

As head of the upper house of parliament, or Bundesrat, Seehofer is acting head of state.

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube