Berlin, October 26 (BNA) The newly elected German parliament is scheduled to hold its first meeting tomorrow, Tuesday. The 736-member lower house of parliament, or Bundestag, is expected to elect its new president, Barbil Bass of the centre-left Social Democrats, which emerged after last month’s election as the strongest party.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will attend the meeting, although she is no longer an MP. You will sit on the visitor’s bench in Parliament. Later in the afternoon, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will formally dismiss Merkel and her cabinet, although they will be required to remain in a temporary position until a new government is formed, according to the Associated Press.
The three parties hoping to form Germany’s new government said last week that they aimed to appoint the country’s next chancellor in early December, but acknowledged they faced a complex task.
The Social Democrats, Greens and the pro-business Liberal Democrats opened formal coalition talks after an initial deal earlier this month, which outlined their priorities but left many open questions.
The German coalition talks are a complex matter, resulting in an agreement outlining the details of the government’s four-year programme. It has tended to get longer over the years as the country’s political landscape has fragmented, meaning elections rarely produce a parliamentary majority for traditional allies.
If the negotiations succeed, the new government will send Merkel’s bloc into the opposition after 16 years at its head. She will be succeeded by Olaf Schultz, who propelled the Social Democrats to a narrow election victory on September 26. He is the Deputy Chancellor and Minister of Finance in the current government.
RAE