Olaf Scholz elected new German chancellor

Berlin, Germany | Xinhua | Olaf Scholz from Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) was elected as the new Federal Chancellor on Wednesday.

According to the German Bundestag, or the lower house of Parliament, Scholz got 395 of the 707 votes, well above the 369-vote majority required in the 736-seat Bundestag.

The newly-elected chancellor then went to the official residence of the Federal President at Bellevue Palace where he was appointed by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Scholz was then sworn in at the Bundestag.

Later in the day, the new government’s ministers were also appointed. In the afternoon, Scholz officially took over the chancellery from Angela Merkel.

The SPD won the federal election at the end of September. Scholz will lead the country’s first three-party coalition of SPD, the Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP). The parties signed a 177-page coalition agreement on Tuesday.

****

Xinhua