Germany New German Bundestag convenes
Thirty days after its election, the new German Bundestag has convened for its first session. This marks the start of the 21st legislative period.
25.03.2025, 11:26
SDA
The constituent session was opened by the old-age president, Left Party MP Gregor Gysi. He is the parliamentarian with the longest time in the Bundestag. The East Berlin lawyer has been a member of parliament for more than 30 years.
Gysi will chair the session until a new Bundestag President is elected. According to the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, the Social Democrat Bärbel Bas will be succeeded by former Federal Minister of Agriculture Julia Klöckner. Traditionally, the strongest parliamentary group in the Bundestag holds this office, which is the second-highest after the Federal President in terms of protocol.
The 52-year-old CDU politician from Rhineland-Palatinate will be only the fourth woman to hold this post. In her first speech as President of the Bundestag, Klöckner is likely to call on the 630 members of parliament to treat each other fairly and remind them of their role model character.
The Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) make up the largest parliamentary group with 208 seats. The second strongest force is the right-wing populist AfD with 152 seats.
