Okay, let’s break down this news snippet from the German Bundestag’s press service (hib) and explain what it means in plain language.
Headline: AfD: The eldest MP is said to be the age president
Published: 2025-03-25 09:02
What it means:
This short message is about a custom in the German Bundestag (the German parliament) concerning who presides over the opening session of a newly elected parliament.
Here’s a breakdown:
- AfD: This refers to the “Alternative für Deutschland” party, a right-wing political party in Germany. The message is about something they likely proposed or commented on.
- The eldest MP: This refers to the Member of Parliament who is the oldest in terms of age.
- Age President (Alterspräsident/in): This is a traditional, largely ceremonial role. In the German Bundestag (and in many other parliaments), the oldest member of parliament by age presides over the very first session of a newly elected parliament.
- “is said to be”: This phrase suggests that the AfD is making a claim or expressing an opinion about the role of the Age President.
In other words, the AfD is involved in a discussion or making a statement about who should hold the “Age President” position – the oldest MP – in the opening session of the Bundestag.
Why is this important?
- Tradition and Symbolism: The Age President position is a symbolic one. The person holding it opens the session, often gives a speech reflecting on parliamentary values, and oversees the election of the official President (Speaker) of the Bundestag.
- Political Significance: The Age President has a certain level of visibility and influence in setting the tone for the new legislative period.
- Potential Controversy: In some cases, if the oldest MP belongs to a controversial party (like the AfD), their role as Age President can generate debate or controversy, as it gives them a prominent platform.
Possible implications and what the article might be about:
Based on this short snippet, here are some possibilities for what the full article might discuss:
- The AfD might be advocating for maintaining the tradition of the oldest MP becoming the Age President, even if that MP is from their party. Given the AfD’s political positions, this could be seen as them trying to normalize their presence in the political landscape.
- The AfD might be critical of the tradition. Perhaps they have a reason why the oldest MP shouldn’t automatically be Age President. This is less likely, but still possible.
- The article might be about a debate or controversy related to who the oldest MP is in the new parliament, and the implications of that person holding the Age President role. For example, if the oldest MP has a history of controversial statements, other parties might try to find ways to limit their influence.
- The article could delve into proposed changes to the rules or traditions surrounding the Age President position.
In short, the news item highlights a discussion about a tradition in the German parliament regarding the role of the oldest MP in the opening session, and the AfD party is likely involved in that discussion.
How to find more information:
To get the full story, you would need to find the complete article on the Bundestag website or look for news reports from reputable German news sources about the same topic. You could search for terms like “Alterspräsident Bundestag AfD” (Age President Bundestag AfD) in German.
AfD: The eldest MP is said to be the age president
The AI has delivered the news.
The following question was used to generate the response from Google Gemini:
At 2025-03-25 09:02, ‘AfD: The eldest MP is said to be the age president’ was published according to Kurzmeldungen (hib). Please write a detailed article with related information in an easy-to-understand manner.
61