Gerhard Trabert is nominated as a candidate of the left for the election of the Federal President.

The social medicine specialist from Mainz confirmed this to the FAZ on Sunday.

Trabert, who is a professor of social medicine at the Rhein-Main University of Applied Sciences, will vote on February 13th as a non-party member.

He is not given any chances, however, as incumbent Frank-Walter Steinmeier is running again and can count on broad support.

Daniel Meuren

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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Trabert had already fought for a direct candidate for the Bundestag in the Bundestag election in September as a non-party candidate for the left in Mainz. He scored 12.4 percentage points, which earned him recognition from the party. Even after the general election, Trabert emphasized his independence and the will to remain independent, despite many content-related disagreements with the party. He has not changed this opinion now either. "And it stays that way," he told the FAZ on Sunday

About his motivation to get involved politically, Trabert said in an interview with the FAZ after the Bundestag election: “The main reason for my candidacy was to have the chance to raise issues: social justice, the situation of refugees.

To take a clear position against racism and right-wing populism again and again.

I had neglected all of that in politics before, and that was only touched upon again during the election campaign.

I didn't run because I thought I'd win the direct mandate. "

He also cited the consequences of the corona pandemic as a motivation.

"Corona has made the social injustice in this rich country even clearer.

We have all noticed that again and again.

Corona was one of the reasons why I took this step to run for the Bundestag. " 

In September Trabert was still undecided whether he wanted to continue his political commitment, even if the left tried to encourage him to do so. “On the one hand, I can already see that it is important and gives me more strength and energy to act directly with people and to create specific supply structures, support structures, and participation structures for people on the fringes of our society, whether in Germany or in other countries ", he said. “On the other hand, it might have been very good to be able to present the topic of sea rescue to the Bundestag from my own experience, what it means to pull people out of the water in the Mediterranean because their boat has capsized and to know that numerous people are at that moment also will drown. Or confront the parliamentarians with what it is likeHaving to live on Hartz IV - that someone has less than three euros a day for breakfast, lunch and dinner for their five-year-old child. That's why I'm already thinking about how I can get even more involved in a political discussion. "

"Homeless doctor" and helpers in Moria

As a candidate for the office of Federal President, Trabert will probably try again to use the opportunity to lobby for his issues.

The physician, known in Mainz as the “homeless doctor”, is personally involved as chairman of the Mainz-based association Poverty and Health in Germany, which he set up himself and for which he has been visiting homeless people in a doctor's mobile for more than a quarter of a century and offering them low-threshold medical help .

In addition, the association operates a contact point in Mainz and lobby work for socially disadvantaged people.

In addition, Trabert is involved in various international projects.

So he traveled to Camp Moria on Lesbos again and again to give medical help to refugees in the camp there.

He was also on rescue missions for refugees in distress in the Mediterranean Sea.

In Mainz he is also active for the Whisper Post association, which looks after the children of parents with cancer.

Trabert has received various awards for his work, most recently the Mainz Media Prize.