German President

The vote also kicked off election campaigning in earnest, with conservative challenger Friedrich Merz, who surveys suggest is likely to replace Scholz

Scholz admitted to the meetings during his first grilling, but stated that he could no longer remember the content of his talks

Steinmeier told ZDF television Tuesday that we failed on many points, including efforts to encourage Russia toward democracy and respecting human rights

Both have mild symptoms and immediately went into isolation

Steinmeier, who has been serving as the German Foreign Minister since 2013, will be elected as President on Feb 12