Bärbel Bas to be voted in as new Bundestag president

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) of Germany will propose Barbel Bas as a candidate for President of the Bundestag today.

The SPD, which won the largest number of seats in Germany’s recent parliamentary election, will put forward a candidate for president of the Bundestag to be approved by the rest of the chamber. The SPD was expected to nominate Rolf Mutzenich, the current party chairman, but pressure within the party to nominate a woman eventually led to Bas’s nomination.

Expect the Bundestag to confirm Bas. The largest parliamentary party’s nominations for Bundestag president are rarely rejected. Though Bas will undoubtedly pursue SPD objectives, as the office’s primary duties include chairing parliamentary sessions and supervising procedure, her tenure will be shaped by the SPD’s coalition talks with other parties.

Since control of the office affects the agendas of all parties in the Bundestag, settling on a candidate for the presidency may indicate that the SPD is close to reaching agreements with the Greens and FDP on other nominations, and is nearing a deal on a government coalition. Such a coalition will likely see moderate SPD and Free Democratic Party members coordinating on monetary and tax policy in the years ahead.

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