Berlin - at 14.33 clock had run the election - everything remains the same. The Federal Assembly had just been confirmed as Federal President Horst Köhler. He took the choice of beaming. The defeated Gesine Schwan Koehler congratulated as the first. Then, Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived with a big bouquet of flowers.
In a brief speech, Köhler made his wife Eve a declaration of love: "Every hour with you is a gift," he said.
The delegates had already confirmed Kohler in the first round with a razor-thin majority: 613 votes he received - a few, and the Federal Assembly would be in the next election go-round.
The one vote was received from a Kohler calculated Greens. The Bundestag Silke Stokar: "I did not date in the Federal President with the Left Party. I was convinced for days that I pick Kohler. "
For the SPD candidate, Gesine Schwan 503 delegates, the Left's candidate Peter then was voted to 91, the Nazi singer Frank Wilson on four votes.
As soon), Bundestag President Norbert Lammert (CDU figures had indicated were the excited Rechnereien go in the hall. Score: nominal strength for Kohler, then success and frustration for swan.
While Kohler immediately be reached target choice and was able to convince former Commissioner Peter then TV on the votes of the Left, two other people present, there was a shock for Gesine Schwan: 503 votes had them - eleven less than the SPD and the Greens in the Diet were sent. At the SPD's was not, at once assured SPD chief Franz Muentefering - probably rightly so.
Because of the scandal on the eve of the election happened in the Open: Because Swan was not on the blanket issue of GDR embarking as unjust state, it has ended with the Stasi agent Marianne Birthler together. In the end, only a desperate plea to the top of Group helped to abstain in the first round at least - which did seem a surprising number of green too.
Horst Köhler's speech in the text: click here>
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Heuss to Kohler - the German President
