German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will consider other options before making a decision on potential new elections. He will “certainly take up conversations with the parties and groups represented in the Bundestag and then make a decision” Steinmeier said in an interview with ARD during his trip to South Africa.
“I won’t be surprised if this option doesn’t show up in the conversations with the faction leaders and chairmen of the groups. But the conversations are worth waiting for” Steinmeier said. Such conversations are “good state practice” in Germany, as the dissolution of the Bundestag “affects not just a few, but all members of parliament” the President explained.
Steinmeier does not rule out the possibility of a difficult government formation, as in 2017. However, he does not think it necessary to introduce a time limit for coalition negotiations. “I hope we can follow the tradition of earlier elections and government formations and get a stable government in place within reasonable timeframes” he said.
In the face of the already started election campaign, he appealed to election campaigners and voters. “I wish the election campaigners would make the positions of the parties clear on the different questions, whether it’s infrastructure, taxes, social policy, the future, the labor market, and pension policy. That they would make their differences clear, but also maintain a style that takes into account that they may have to work together with their political opponents after the election and government formation” Steinmeier said.
“That requires controlling the tone and maintaining a political style that is fitting for this republic and its democracy, namely cooperation willingness and the ability to maintain cooperation” he added.
He asked voters to use the Christmas days to also think about their vote. “We are in a special year: 35 years of peaceful revolution and the fall of the Berlin Wall. We remember that thousands took to the streets to fight for free elections, which we have throughout Germany. And we should not take that for granted or underestimate it” the President said.
“Everyone should cast their vote as if their vote was the decisive one, relevant for the composition of the next federal government” he concluded.