German parliament elects an ex-minister as speaker as it opens a potentially confrontational term

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BERLIN (AP) — Germany's new parliament on Tuesday elected as its speaker a conservative former minister, who called for civilized debate in what is likely to be a confrontational term after a far-right, anti-immigration party doubled in strength in last month's election.

The post of speaker — in protocol terms Germany's second-highest, behind the president and ahead of the chancellor — traditionally goes to the strongest group in parliament's lower house, or Bundestag. After the Feb. 23 election, that is the center-right Union bloc of the country's likely next leader, Friedrich Merz.

Merz's choice was Julia Klöckner, 52, who was agriculture minister from 2018 to 2021 in then-Chancellor Angela Merkel's final government. Lawmakers elected her by 382 votes to 204, with 31 abstentions.

Klöckner promised lawmakers she would carry out her duties in a “non-partisan, calm and undaunted” way.

The atmosphere in the Bundestag has become considerably more heated since the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, first won seats in 2017. It finished second in last month's election, doubling its share of the vote to 20.8%, and now holds 152 of the 630 seats.

“There is a very clear yardstick for me: decency,” Klöckner said.

“We must conduct and endure controversial discourse ... according to clear rules,” she added. “I will take care that we deal with each other in a civilized way — and if we don't do that, learn to.”

According to parliamentary rules, other parties are each supposed to get a deputy speaker, but their candidates must win a majority of lawmakers. In its eight years in parliament, a majority has balked at every candidate AfD has proposed. On Tuesday, the Bundestag snubbed AfD lawmaker Gerold Otten, who failed to win more than 190 votes.

It's not clear when the Bundestag will be able to elect a new chancellor. Merz is still in talks to form a coalition with the center-left Social Democrats of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Scholz and his Cabinet received their dismissal certificates from President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Tuesday. But as is customary, Steinmeier tasked the government to stay in office on a caretaker basis until a new chancellor is in place.