It happened at 10:54 a.m.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier reads a short statement based on Article 63 of the Basic Law, with which he appoints Olaf Scholz as Federal Chancellor.

Then the Federal President addresses him for the first time with the new title.

"Mr. Chancellor, my heartfelt congratulations." At that moment, two things happened at the same time.

The 63-year-old Scholz has been elected Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany as the fourth Social Democrat.

And the Christian Democrat Angela Merkel no longer holds this office after 16 years.

Eckart Lohse

Head of the parliamentary editorial office in Berlin.

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Markus Wehner

Political correspondent in Berlin.

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It is a very short, almost private moment on this Wednesday morning.

At 10.40 a.m., two limousines pull up in front of Steinmeier's official residence, Bellevue Palace.

Scholz, in a dark suit, white shirt and wine-red tie, has a brief preliminary talk with Steinmeier.

Ten minutes later, in the great hall of the castle, the door on the left from the perspective of the waiting journalists opens, and Steinmeier and Scholz enter the room.

It is the second time for the President, in 2018 he presented Angela Merkel with her certificate of appointment, her fourth.

He has already given her the certificate of discharge on October 26th, one month after the general election.

Since then she has been the managing chancellor, a situation that ends with the election of a successor without further action.

Scholz looks almost intimidated

Scholz seems very concentrated next to his longtime political companion Steinmeier, who in 2009 was the first social democrat who tried in vain to become Merkel's successor.

He seems almost intimidated, at least moved by the moment.

Steinmeier asks him to open the folder with the certificate of appointment for the photographers.

He does it.

Scholz doesn't say a word in the few minutes.

He had already shown himself taciturn in the Bundestag, at least during the official part of that day, which is all about the election of Chancellor. At 10.16 a.m., President Bärbel Bas of the Bundestag opens the session that was previously interrupted because of the ballot. Before announcing the result, she makes a rare concession to MPs. It's about taking photos in the age of the smartphone. That is actually forbidden during Bundestag sessions. But today it is allowed as an exception "so that I don't have to give 736 calls to order," says Bas.

Then she announces the result of the election. Scholz has to get 369 votes, that is the absolute majority. “With a vote of 395,” says Bas. Then the applause breaks out. The representatives of the traffic light coalition applaud their chancellor for two minutes. Scholz got 26 more votes than he needed. However, the result is not great. Because the traffic light parties have 416 votes. In purely arithmetical terms, the new Chancellor will be denied 21 votes from within his own ranks.

However, it doesn't quite work out that way.

According to the party, four members of the SPD were absent, excused because of illness;

There are still 15 parliamentarians of the traffic light coalition, whose votes Scholz are missing.

However, Angela Merkel had repeatedly experienced that she did not get all the votes from among her coalition ranks in the election for Chancellor.

Sometimes it was very close.