By IRNA,
Berlin : More than 60 percent of Germans voiced dissatisfaction with the performance of German President Horst Koehler amid earlier press reports that he was seeking a second presidential term, according to a survey released Tuesday by the private Sat.1 television news network.
Asked whether Koehler who holds a largely ceremonial post in German politics, was a good president, some 60.1 percent replied ‘no’, while 39.3 percent said ‘yes’ and 0.6 percent did not know how to assess his presidency.
The media reported over the weekend that Koehler had received broad support for a second candidacy from almost all major parties during his recent talks with party leaders.
He also got the blessing of Chancellor Angela Merkel for another term, according to the conservative Bild newspaper.
“She fully supports him,” a leading member of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) was cited saying.
Merkel had masterminded the first candidacy of Koehler in spring 2004, derailing the presidential bid of another CDU leader Wolfgang Schaeuble who is now Germany’s Interior Minister.
Koehler who served as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 2000 until 2004, has sought bipartisan for a second tenure.
The 65-year-old president is to declare officially his renewed candidacy on May 23, coinciding with Germany’s Constitution Day.
Under German constitution, the president is not part of the executive and stands above the three branches of government.
This applies also to the sphere of foreign policy.
He can, however, focus public attention on vital long-term issues that need to be addressed but are not necessarily on the government’s agenda.
Under Article 59 of the German constitution, the president is also authorized to sign international treaties on behalf of the Federal Republic.