Berlin's new parliament meets: Hendrikje Klein set to become first Left Party speaker
Six weeks after the election, the Berlin House of Representatives holds its first session today. The Left is set to provide the president for the first time – while the AfD candidate for a deputy post is likely to fail.
Archive image · Photo: UMO1 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Almost six weeks after the 20 September election, Berlin's new House of Representatives meets for its constituent session on Thursday at 10 a.m. The parliament has 153 members, six fewer than before, and is elected for five years. The session will be opened by the oldest member, 78-year-old CDU politician Kurt Wansner, who according to dpa intends to warn about rising antisemitism. Almost half of the members are new, and around 38 percent are women.
As the largest group, the Left is nominating 46-year-old Hendrikje Klein as president. A member since 2016, she would be the first Left politician to lead the House and, after Hanna-Renate Laurien and Cornelia Seibeld (both CDU), the third woman in the post. An absolute majority is needed; her election is considered very likely. Klein has said she wants to "do some things differently". Seats: Left 45, CDU 33, AfD 29, Greens 25, SPD 21; according to the parliamentary administration, the Left group currently counts only 44 members.
The vice presidents are nominated by the CDU and the AfD as the second- and third-largest groups. The CDU is putting forward outgoing president Seibeld, who is expected to be elected. The Left, CDU, Greens and SPD do not intend to vote for AfD candidate Martin Trefzer, so the post may remain vacant. AfD group leader Kristin Brinker said: "The election result of 20 September must also be reflected in the composition of the presidium."