Steinmeier elected for second term as German president

euronews.com:

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was reelected on Sunday for a five-year term in a largely ceremonial post where he must embody a moral authority that cuts across party lines.

In office since March 2017, the former foreign minister and chancellor candidate for the Social Democrats (SPD) was chosen by a large majority of the 1437-votes-strong special electoral assembly.

The electoral body brought together members of parliament’s lower house, and a number of representatives chosen by the country's 16 federal states including former German leaders, and certain civil society personalities.

Steinmeier, 66, announced that he would seek a second term last May, before the parliamentary election that brought Scholz’s coalition to power and at a time when his chances of re-election looked far from certain.

The president said he wanted to help heal divisions widened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before becoming president, Steinmeier served two stints as Chancellor Angela Merkel’s foreign minister and previously was chief of staff to Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

Germany’s president has little executive power but is considered a substantial moral authority. After messy parliamentary elections in 2017, Steinmeier helped prod politicians to form a new coalition government rather than holding out for a new vote.