Merkel's coalition in talks to decide on new German president

Feb 18, 2012, 9:46 GMT

Berlin - Chancellor Angela Merkel was on Saturday meeting with leaders from the German coalition government to choose a successor to president Christian Wulff, who resigned over corruption allegations.

Wulff quit with immediate effect Friday from the largely ceremonial post, after prosecutors applied for his immunity to be lifted to allow them to investigate allegations that he took favours from wealthy friends.

Merkel, who had picked Wulff from within her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) for the job in 2010, was meeting in the chancellery in Berlin with the heads of the Christian Social Union (CSU), Horst Seehofer, and Free Democratic Party (FDP) leader Philipp Roesler.

Discussions are expected to last several hours and Merkel is expected to present a candidate by the start of the week. She is also expected to consult with the opposition Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Greens.

Those named are Defence Minister Thomas de Maiziere, Environment Minister Klaus Toepfer, Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen, constitutional court president Andreas Vosskuhle and Greens politician Katrin Goering-Eckardt.

SPD leader Sigmar Gabriel has said he wants Wulff to be succeeded by Joachim Gauck, a former East German anti-communist campaigner.

As head of the upper house of parliament, or Bundesrat, Seehofer is acting head of state.