When Frank-Walter Steinmeier is likely to be re-elected Federal President on Sunday, some may just shrug their shoulders: Oh yes, the Federal President, this nice uncle who gives the Christmas speech every year and also many other important speeches!

The Federal President is the first man in the state, according to the constitution, the German Basic Law, which contains the most important regulations for the country and for the coexistence of the people here.

The Federal President is the most important representative of Germany, i.e. his representative, he appoints Federal Chancellors, appoints and dismisses the ministers and has to sign the laws.

That is why he is so important for the country that the parties leave as little as possible to chance when choosing him.

Oliver Georgi

Editor in the politics of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.

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Basically, anyone who is a German citizen, is allowed to vote in this country and is at least forty years old can run for president, i.e. stand for election.

But how it really works is a little more complicated.

Because so far only men have become Federal Presidents - and then only those who have either been politicians for a long time or previously held another highly respected function in society.

Horst Köhler, for example, was previously President of the International Monetary Fund.

This institution makes sure that countries around the world don't get into serious financial difficulties.

Roman Herzog used to be President of the Federal Constitutional Court, the most important judge in the whole country.

Or Joachim Gauck, who was head of the Stasi Records Authority for many years,

in which files were kept about how a secret police in the GDR monitored and sometimes persecuted the citizens.

Christian Wulff, or now Frank-Walter Steinmeier, were important politicians before they took office, Wulff was Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, Steinmeier was Head of the Chancellery and then Foreign Minister for a long time.

The Federal President is elected by a group of people who are specially put together and only come together for this election.

It is called the Federal Assembly and consists of all the members of the Bundestag, i.e. the politicians in our parliament, plus just as many electors who are determined by the parliaments of the individual federal states.

These can be representatives from state and local politics, but also actors, scientists or athletes.

For example, the virologist Christian Drosten is a member of the Federal Assembly on Sunday.

This time, the Federal President will be elected by 1,472 eligible voters, and if necessary even several times.

The first time, a candidate must receive an absolute majority, more than half of all votes.

When the votes spread like this

that nobody gets at least 737 votes, the election is repeated.

If there is no absolute majority for a candidate the second time, the election is repeated again, and now, the third time, whoever simply gets the most votes wins, even if it is less than half of all votes.

In order not to damage the office and its dignity, the majority parties in the Bundestag usually agree on a common candidate long before the election.

When a candidate is valued across party lines like Frank-Walter Steinmeier is now, that's pretty easy.

That's why his election on Sunday is also considered safe;

his three opponents from the AfD, Free Voters and the Left have no chance.

Nevertheless, they are set up by these parties to show that they want to do something to counter Steinmeier's re-election.

With less clear candidates, a presidential election can also show that the power of the governing parties has its weaknesses.

This was clearly evident when Christian Wulff was elected in 2010.

His predecessor, Horst Köhler, had resigned prematurely, and the black-yellow government coalition quickly agreed on Wulff as a candidate.

The SPD and the Greens then nominated Joachim Gauck and the Left Party the member of the Bundestag Luc Jochimsen.

In 2010, the black-yellow coalition made up 644 of the 1,244 members of the Federal Assembly, more than half of those entitled to vote.

Actually, it should have been enough for Wulff in the first ballot.

But it didn't, because Joachim Gauck also had many supporters in the CDU and FDP.

Wulff was only elected in the third ballot - a defeat not only for him,

but also for the black-yellow coalition.

She doesn't even have her own ranks under control, that's how it was rated at the time.

In general, the question of who can run for president with the support of the major parties is often the result of a highly unworthy political job haggling in coalitions in which concessions always have a price.

The highest office in the state should actually be non-partisan.

If someone is elected President who is a member of a party (like almost all politicians), then this membership is suspended during the term of office.

But even the Federal President is indirectly involved in the political intrigues and power games in the capital.

If he wants or not.