Frank-Walter Steinmeier is set for another term as German president, after his candidacy was backed by Germany’s Green party.
Steinmeier is a “very good and highly respected Federal President who earned great merits for our country in his first term of office,” Green party leaders said Tuesday in a joint statement. “We are convinced that he will continue to support and guide our society on the difficult way out of the pandemic.”
Steinmeier, who has been Germany’s president since 2017, is the only declared candidate running for reelection, ahead of the parliamentary vote on February 13. Despite speculation around a rival from the conservative CDU/CSU alliance, no candidate has come forward.
Steinmeier’s Social Democratic party and the Free Democrats have also expressed support for Steinmeier, and that parliamentary arithmetic makes him the likely winner. He would then serve for another five years as Germany’s president.
To win the race, Steinmeier needs an absolute majority from the 1,472-member Federal Assembly in the first two ballots. If the race went to a third ballot, a simple plurality would suffice.
