Vocal Donald Trump critic says he wants Germany to be an ‘anchor of hope’ after he was voted in by parliamentary assembly

A centre-left politician who once characterised Donald Trump as a “hate preacher” has been elected president of Germany. The former foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was voted in on Sunday by a parliamentary assembly made up of 1,260 MPs and representatives of Germany’s 16 states.

Steinmeier, a member of the Social Democratic party, had guaranteed the support both of his own centre-left bloc and Angela Merkel’s centre-right Christian Democratic party, who between them hold a majority of 923 seats in the assembly.

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In his acceptance speech, Steinmeier, 61, said Germany should be an “anchor of hope” while democratic institutions were under threat across the globe. “As the foundations are shaking elsewhere, we have to prop up those foundations even more strongly,” he said

Gaining 75% of votes in the first round, he beat four outsider candidates fielded by the smaller parties, including Christoph Butterwegge, a political scientist and poverty researcher; Albrecht Glaser, a former Christian Democrat running for the rightwing populist Alternative for Germany party (AfD); and Engelbert Sonneborn, the father of the leader of the satirical organisation the Party.



Despite the role being largely ceremonial, past German presidents have aspired to act as a moral authority in debates of national and international importance. Steinmeier succeeds Joachim Gauck, 77, a former Protestant pastor and East German civil rights activist who told the Guardian this month that Germany would “staunchly stand by the European project”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Angela Merkel congratulates Steinmeier. Photograph: Carsten Koall/EPA

In contrast to Gauck, Steinmeier will enter the presidential residency at Bellevue Palace in Berlin’s Tiergarten district as a career politician. A former chief of staff to Gerhard Schröder, Steinmeier was one of the architects behind the “Agenda 2010” labour market reforms of the early 2000s.

After serving as foreign minister in Merkel’s first coalition government between 2005 and 2009, Steinmeier presided over his party’s worst performance at a general election. In 2010, when he was the country’s main opposition leader, Steinmeier took a break from politics to donate a kidney to his wife, Elke Büdenbender, a judge at Berlin’s administrative court.

However, in a second stint in the foreign ministry as part of Germany’s “grand coalition” between the SPD and CDU, he enjoyed consistently high popularity ratings.

In the run-up to the US election, he said Trump had much in common with “fearmongers” in the AfD and with advocates of Britain’s exit from the EU.



After Trump’s shock victory in November, he predicted that “American foreign policy will be less predictable for us in the future” and that “America will be more inclined to make unilateral decisions”.

Some in Germany have criticised Steinmeier for adhering to his party’s Ostpolitik philosophy – a more diplomatic and conciliatory approach to Russian power than that pursued by Merkel. Last June the foreign minister raised eyebrows when he appeared to criticise a large-scale Nato manoeuvre in Poland as “sabre rattling”. But his commitment to trying to solve the long-running crisis in Ukraine has also gained Steinmeier respect in the international community.

Relations with his British counterpart were visibly frosty during their first bilateral meeting in November, with Steinmeier failing to reciprocate Boris Johnson’s offer of a fist bump during their joint press conference, and there were reports that the Vote Leave campaigner greeted the German politician as “Frank-Markus”. Steinmeier had openly criticised the methods of the leave camp in the run-up to the Brexit vote.

Steinmeier will reportedly focus on visiting “left-behind” communities around Germany in the coming weeks.</s>German politicians elect former foreign minister by an overwhelming majority to be the country's new president.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany's former foreign minister, has been elected as the country's new president, the 12th person to hold the largely ceremonial post in the post-war era.

Steinmeier on Sunday won 931 out of 1,239 valid votes cast by the members of the Federal Assembly, which is made up of 630 federal members of parliament and an equal number of delegates from 16 states.

"Let's be brave, because then we don't have to be afraid of the future," Steinmeier said in his acceptance speech.

He said the world faces "rough times," but that Germany, as a functioning democracy, had the responsibility to fight for stability.

and said she was convinced he would be an excellent president who would have the support of the vast majority of the people.

"This is a good day for Germany," Merkel said.

A seasoned Social Democrat politician who had served as foreign minister until last month, Steinmeier had the support of Chancellor Angela Merkel's "grand coalition" of centre-right and centre-left parties.

"I would like as federal president to be something of a counterweight to the current tendency towards boundless simplification," Steinmeier, 61, said ahead of the election.

While on a tour of Germany to promote his candidacy, Steinmeier emphasised mutual respect, strengthening democracy, taking a broader view, tolerance and solidarity as the ideas that will inform his presidency.

His predecessor, Joachim Gauck, steps down on March 18.

The German president has little executive power, but is considered an important moral authority and symbol of the country as its host for visiting dignitaries.</s>A parliamentary assembly met at the Reichstag in Berlin to elect centre-left politician Frank-Walter Steinmeier the new president of Germany. Steinmeier, who once characterised Donlad Trump as a “hate preacher”, references the first president of the country, Theodor Heuss, and urges his fellow parliamentarians to ensure Germany stands firm “on this foundation of democracy”</s>Newly elected German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivers a speech when a German parliamentary assembly came together to elect the country's new president in Berlin, Germany on Sunday. Pic/ AP/PTI

Berlin: Former foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was elected Germany's president on Sunday, the 12th person to hold the largely ceremonial post in the post-war era.

Steinmeier, a Social Democrat who had served as foreign minister until last month, won 931 of the 1,260 votes by lawmakers and representatives of Germany's 16 federal states.

His predecessor, Joachim Gauck, steps down on March 18. The German constitution mandates that a special assembly is convened to elect presidents. It includes 630 lawmakers in the Bundestag lower house and an equal number of representatives from the federal states.</s>Newly elected German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivers a speech when a German parliamentary assembly came together to elect the country's new president in Berlin, Germany on Sunday. Pic/ AP/PTI

Berlin: Former foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was elected Germany's president on Sunday, the 12th person to hold the largely ceremonial post in the post-war era.

Steinmeier, a Social Democrat who had served as foreign minister until last month, won 931 of the 1,239 valid votes by lawmakers and representatives of Germany's 16 federal states. There 103 abstentions and 14 votes were invalid.

After Bundestag president Norbert Lammert announced the results, all representatives held a standing ovation except for a few dozen members of the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The anti-immigrant AfD, which has no lawmakers in the lower house but holds seats in 10 of Germany's 16 state parliaments, is forecast to be the third-largest party after a general election on Sept. 24.

The AfD filed its own candidate, who received 42 votes. "I have faith in him to lead our country in these difficult times," Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is seeking a fourth term, said after the vote. The Kremlin said in a statement that Russian President Vladimir Putin had congratulated Steinmeier in a telegram and invited him to visit Moscow. Steinmeier last year drew criticism when he said NATO's decision to stage military manoeuvres in eastern Europe amounted to "sabre-rattling".

His Social Democrats prefer a softer stance towards Russia than Merkel's conservatives. Russia wants the European Union to lift sanctions imposed over its annexation of Crimea and backing of separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine. The German constitution mandates that a special assembly is convened to elect presidents. It includes 630 lawmakers in the Bundestag lower house and an equal number of representatives from the federal states. Current President Joachim Gauck steps down on March 18.</s>A German special assembly elected Frank-Walter Steinmeier as the country’s next president Sunday.

The veteran Social Democrat and former foreign minister, who will assume the mostly ceremonial role on March 18, succeeds Joachim Gauck who didn’t run for reelection.

In his acceptance speech, the newly elected president called Germany “an anchor for hope,” and said “the country should take on responsibility and serve as a role model for other countries,” Deutsche Welle reported.

Germany “inspires others to be brave, not because everything is well here, but because we’ve shown how much a country can improve,” the German daily quoted Steinmeier as saying.

Steinmeier also called on Germans to defend freedom and democracy in the EU, according to the report.

The result of the vote, conducted in a special assembly that included lawmakers as well as religious and civil society representatives, was expected.

President of the European Council Donald Tusk congratulated Steinmeier on his election. “Your appointment comes at a critical moment for Europe. The many external and internal challenges we are facing could hardly be more severe,” Tusk said in a statement. “In times like these, European unity is more important than ever, and I look forward to Germany’s continued contribution to the European project.”

This article has been updated with the correct name of Deutsche Welle.</s>BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Former German Foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was elected as president, succeeding Joachim Gauck.



Steinmeier is one of Germany's well known politicians, having twice served as foreign minister, from 2005 to 2009 and again from 2013 until earlier this year. Also he once served as vice chancellor from 2007 to 2009.



He was known for his efforts trying to mediate the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Some German media described him as 'pragmatic, assertive and popular.'



Gauck, assuming office since March 2012, had announced earlier that he would not seek another five-year term citing his age as the reason.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX</s>A German parliamentary assembly has elected former foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier by an overwhelming majority to become the country's new president.

The 61-year-old, who regularly polls as Germany's most popular politician, will represent the EU's top economy abroad and act as a kind of moral arbiter for the nation.

His Social Democrats (SPD) hope the appointment will boost their fortunes just as their candidate Martin Schulz, the former European parliament president, readies to challenge Chancellor Angela Merkel in September elections.

Steinmeier received 931 of 1,239 valid votes after Merkel's conservatives, lacking a strong candidate of their own, agreed to back him to replace incumbent Joachim Gauck, 77, a former pastor from ex-communist East Germany.

The vote was held in Berlin's glass-domed Reichstag building by a special Federal Assembly, made up of national lawmakers and electors sent from Germany's 16 states -- among them deputies but also artists, writers, musicians and national football coach Joachim Loew.

With his snowy white hair, round glasses and dimpled smile, Steinmeier is one of Germany's best-known politicians, having twice served as top diplomat under Merkel for a total of seven years.

Though the trained lawyer is usually measured in his speech, in the thick of last year's US election campaign Steinmeier labelled Donald Trump a "hate preacher".

After the billionaire won the White House, Steinmeier predicted relations would get "more difficult" and said his staff were struggling to detect any "clear and coherent" foreign policy positions from Trump.

As Steinmeier has prepared for the new post, which he assumes on March 19, he has vowed to serve as a "counterweight to the trend of boundless simplification", calling this approach "the best antidote to the populists".

The Berliner Morgenpost newspaper judged that Steinmeier looks set to be "the anti-Trump president".

Steinmeier is only known to have lost his cool once, in 2014, when he yelled at Berlin protesters who had accused him of being a "warmonger" over his Ukraine policy. The outburst was so unusual it became a minor YouTube hit.

A policy wonk by nature, Steinmeier served as advisor and then chief of staff to Merkel's predecessor, the SPD's Gerhard Schroeder.

In 2009, Steinmeier ran against Merkel and lost badly, only to return years later to serve in her cabinet.

Political scientist Michael Broening of the SPD's think-tank the Friedrich Ebert Foundation said that "as foreign minister, Steinmeier often acted as a voice of reason, bridging gaps and bringing people together".

"It is hardly surprising that Steinmeier has branded himself as the essential anti-Trump," he added.

Steinmeier is well known in the world's capitals, but his appointment worries some in eastern Europe, who see him as too soft on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He raised eyebrows with NATO partners last year when he criticised a military exercise in Poland as "sabre rattling".

Having Steinmeier move into the presidential Bellevue Castle in Berlin has emboldened the SPD.

After years in the shadow of Merkel, the Social Democrats are smelling blood as the chancellor faces deep divisions within her own conservative camp, and the rise of the hard-right populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD) after opening German borders to a million asylum-seekers since 2015.

Since Schulz took over the candidacy in late January, the SPD has risen sharply in the opinion polls.

It scored 32 percent -- its highest in a decade and only one point behind Merkel's conservatives -- in an Emnid poll for the Bild am Sonntag newspaper, which asked in a headline: "Is this the beginning of the end of the Merkel era?"

The election may still be more than seven months away, but the SPD finally hopes to have a realistic shot at toppling Merkel.

"For Germany's Social Democrats, Steinmeier's election is a prelude to something bigger to come: a victory in September's elections against Merkel," said Broening.

"While this seemed impossible only a few days ago, the recent rise in polls has changed the equation."</s>Billed as Germany’s “anti-Trump”, centre-left former foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was on Sunday elected as the new ceremonial head of state. Steinmeier received a large majority of votes after Merkel’s conservatives, lacking a strong candidate of their own, agreed to back him to replace incumbent Joachim Gauck, 77, a former pastor from ex-communist East Germany.

The 61-year-old, who regularly polls as Germany’s most popular politician, will represent the EU’s top economy abroad and act as a kind of moral arbiter for the nation.

His Social Democrats (SPD) hope the appointment will boost their fortunes just as their candidate Martin Schulz, the former European parliament president, readies to challenge Chancellor Angela Merkel in September elections.</s>BERLIN: Germany's former foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier of the centre-left Social Democrats was elected Sunday as the country's ceremonial president in a vote held in the national parliament.

Steinmeier, 61, was voted in as head of state for a five-year term with 931 out of 1,239 valid votes by a special Federal Assembly, made up of lawmakers and state deputies as well as artists, writers and other citizens.
Former Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is elected President of Germany.