President Steinmeier: operation of neutralization

German ruling coalition, the majority of which is the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU), led by Merkel, has put forward their own candidate in the upcoming presidential elections, the current Social Democrat Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

In Germany people don’t choose president, but the specially convened commission consisting of deputies of the Bundestag and representatives of the land does. However, this post is not considered to have much of strategic importance, the President is likely executor of decisions made by other authorities.

Chancellor Angela Merkel with the help of the coalition tries to get rid of one of her serious opponents in the upcoming elections in 2017. Steinmeier, openly criticizing NATO and regular contact with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, is currently the most popular politician in Germany. His rating is 72%. However, Steinmeier has repeatedly said, that he did not want to change the ministerial portfolio for the presidential one.