Julia Klöckner: Why did she wear white gloves when swearing in?

Possibly some who stuck to Friedrich Merz on the historic day of the chancellor’s election all day before the television may have escaped the detail. Bundestag president Julia Klöckner wore white gloves when swearing in the new Chancellor.

Not a fashion statement, but a precaution: After Merz was finally elected in the second ballot and had received his certificate of appointment from Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Klöckner held an original of the Basic Law in the Bundestag. From this, Merz read the oath formula. In order not to damage the historical document, the Bundestag president had to put on gloves for a short time.

The day before the chancellor election, Klöckner had already posted a video on her social media channels by choosing the right glove size with an employee and explaining the background of the measure.

However, it seems to be a new regulation. Klöckner’s predecessor Bärbel Bas had touched the original of the constitution with the swearing -in of Olaf Scholz in 2021 with bare hands.

The original issue of the 1949 constitution is kept in the Bundestag and only brought out on two occasions: in the swearing-in of the Federal Chancellor and the Federal President. The original is bound in brownish parchment and printed on handmade paper. In addition to the text of the Basic Law, it contains the signatures of the members of the Parliamentary Council and the representatives of the federal states and Berlin. A black, red and gold ribbon marks the side from which the oath of office is read. The ministers swear by facsimiles – which can also be easily touched without gloves.

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