Julia Klöckner, who headed the German Ministry of Agriculture from 2018 to 2021, has been elected President of the German Parliament (Bundestag).
Army informs, citing TASS, that 382 deputies supported his candidacy, 204 voted against, and 31 abstained.
It is noted that five ballots were deemed invalid.
“I accept the vote with great joy,” said Y. Klökner.
Traditionally, the candidate for the Bundestag president is nominated by the largest parliamentary faction – currently the Christian Democratic Union (CDU)/Christian Social Union (CSU). Klöckner replaces Social Democrat Bärbel Bass in the post.
Germany held snap parliamentary elections on February 23. The CDU/CSU bloc won the election with 28.5% of the vote. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) came in second with 20.8%. The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) of current Chancellor Olaf Scholz came in third with 16.4%. The Greens and the Left Party came in third with 11.6% and 8.8% of the vote, respectively.
There are 630 seats in the 21st German parliament. The CDU/CSU has 208 seats, the AfD has 152, the SPD has 120, the Greens have 85, and the Left has 64.