Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD) on Monday nominated its own candidate for the country's presidency in a controversial move seen as a test of Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition.
Gesine Schwan, a 65-year-old university professor, will challenge the incumbent German president Horst Koehler, a member of Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), at an election next year. Koehler, 65, announced last week that he'll seek a second term.
SPD's decision to propose its own presidency candidate runs counter to a tradition of the two main political parties not to put up a challenger to a president seeking a second term.
In announcing Schwan's candidacy, SPD chairman Kurt Beck stressed that the Social Democrats are not planning to "lead a campaign against the current president, whose candidacy we recognize with respect."
"In a democracy, we view a rival candidacy as a good opportunity for a broad discussion of the issues," he said.
Merkel, however, has expressed anger about her coalition partner's decision.
"We have a president who is respected around the world," Merkel said. "So it is regrettable that the Social Democrats have put up their own candidate in this step that can only be explained by the internal state of the party."
The new development has put a further strain on Merkel's CDU-SPD ruling coalition as both parties are trying to sharpen their profile on issues such as tax cut, minimum wages and foreign policy in the run-up to next year's parliamentary elections.
The German president, a largely ceremonial post, is elected by secrets ballots in the Federal Assembly, which is made up of members of the lower house of parliament and delegates from each of Germany's 16 federal states.
The presidential election is due to be held on May 23 next year, four months before parliamentary elections.
Source:Xinhua
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