As the German government discusses whom to propose as the country's next president, opposition parties are calling for a national effort to find a candidate who will receive backing across the political spectrum
The heads of Germany's governing coalition have been meeting in Berlin to find a suitable successor to former President Horst Koehler who on Monday resigned with immediate effect.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced the same evening that her coalition of Christian Democrats and Liberals would find a candidate it then would present to the opposition parties.
The Federal Convention, the body which is to vote on the new president, has been called together for June 30. As Merkel's coalition is expected to hold the majority in the Convention, the opposition will have no way of opposing the government's choice. But Merkel has indicated they would try to find someone who would be accepted by government and opposition alike.
