BERLIN — Germany’s new parliament on Tuesday elected as its speaker a conservative former minister, who called for civilized debate in what is likely to be a confrontational term after a far-right, anti-immigration party doubled in strength in last month’s election.
The post of speaker – in protocol terms Germany’s second-highest, behind the president and ahead of the chancellor – traditionally goes to the strongest group in parliament’s lower house, or Bundestag. After the Feb. 23 election, that is the center-right Union bloc of the country’s likely next leader, Friedrich Merz.
Merz’s choice was Julia Klöckner, 52, who was agriculture minister from 2018 to 2021 in then-Chancellor Angela Merkel’s final government. Lawmakers elected her by 382 votes to 204, with 31 abstentions.
Klöckner promised lawmakers she would carry out her duties in a “non-partisan, calm and undaunted” way.
The atmosphere in the Bundestag has become considerably more heated since the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, first won seats in 2017. It finished second in last month’s election, doubling its share of the vote to 20.8%, and now holds 152 of the 630 seats.
“There is a very clear yardstick for me: decency,” Klöckner said.
“We must conduct and endure controversial discourse … according to clear rules,” she added. “I will take care that we deal with each other in a civilized way – and if we don’t do that, learn to.”
It’s not clear when the Bundestag will be able to elect a new chancellor. Merz is still in talks to form a coalition with the center-left Social Democrats of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz. His party has stressed that it’s more important to get a coalition deal right than to rush the process.
Scholz and his Cabinet will receive their dismissal certificates from President Frank-Walter Steinmeier later in the day. But as is customary, the head of state tasked the outgoing government with remaining in office until a new chancellor is in place.
