Federal Government discharged
Federal President Joachim Gauck has presented the Chancellor and her Cabinet ministers with their certificates of discharge. He asked the Chancellor to stay on as acting head of state until such time as her successor is officially appointed.
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After Federal President Joachim Gauck presented the outgoing Cabinet with certificates of discharge
Photo: Bundesregierung/Bergmann
At the ceremony, which was held at Schloss Bellevue, the Federal President thanked the Chancellor and the government. "You have served our country and our people well," said the Federal President, before he presented the Chancellor and all outgoing Cabinet ministers with their certificates of discharge.
The constituent session of the new German Bundestag on 22 October marks the end of the period of office of the outgoing government. Since the election of the new Chancellor was not on the agenda of the constituent session of the Bundestag, technically the Federal Republic of Germany would have been without a government as of this day. To prevent this, article 69, paragraph 3 of the German Basic Law or constitution provides for the Chancellor and Cabinet ministers to stay on in a caretaker or acting capacity if requested so to do by the Federal President until such time as a successor is appointed.
Parliamentary state secretaries also remain in office on a caretaker basis
The official period of office of parliamentary state secretaries ends along with the period of office of the federal minister to whom they report, with the opening session of the new Bundestag. Should the minister stay in office on a caretaker or acting basis, the parliamentary state secretary too will stay on. When the new minister is appointed, the acting minister and parliamentary state secretary together vacate their posts.
Even parliamentary state secretaries who have not been re-elected to the Bundestag will remain in office during the caretaker period of "their" minister. They will not receive the papers to officially end their period of office until the acting government hands over the reins to the new government.
The authority of the acting government
An acting government basically has the same authority as a "regular" government. Its scope for action is not officially limited to "ongoing business". Nevertheless, in practice the transitional nature of an acting government calls for maximum political restraint.
The acting government is, however, entitled to initiate legislation including the national budget. Cabinet ministers retain the powers vested in them under the provisions of article 65, sentence 2 of the German Basic Law or constitution. This includes the right to issue legal ordinances and administrative regulations.
The Chancellor heading an acting government cannot call for a vote of confidence under the provisions of article 68 of the German Basic Law, because he or she was not elected to office by the new Bundestag, and as an acting Chancellor may not meet the conditions for a dissolution of the Bundestag. Equally there can be no vote of no confidence under the provisions of article 67 of the German Basic Law. The parliament has the normal rights of parliamentary control over the acting government.
Berlin, 22.10.13: One month after the parliamentary elections, the constituent session of the German Bundestag is held.
Prior to the session all members of the German Bundestag were invited to attend an ecumenical church service in St. Hedwig’s Cathedral.
Andreas Voßkuhne, President of the Federal Constitutional Court, Chancellor Angela Merkel and Bundestag President Norbert Lammert attended.
As in 2005, the President by age, Heinz Riesenhuber, opened the first session of the new Bundestag.
Many guests, including Federal President Joachim Gauck, watched from the visitors’ gallery.
591 members of the newly constituted Bundestag voted in favour of re-electing Bundestag President Norbert Lammert.
There are four parliamentary groups in the 18th German Bundestag: 311 from the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), 193 from the Social Democratic Party (SPD), 64 from The Left Party (Die Linke) and 63 from The Greens (Die Grünen)
In the evening the Federal President welcomed the outgoing Chancellor and Cabinet Ministers ...
...and presented them with their certificates of discharge
The period of office of the government officially came to an end with the constituent session of the new German Bundestag.
Joachim Gauck thanked the outgoing ministers for their services to Germany and the German people.
Until a new government is formed, the outgoing government will stay on as acting government.
A reception wound up the ceremony at which the certificates of discharge were presented to the members of the outgoing government.