Austria, Germany - Current Affairs Questions and Answers

1)   Who has been elected the new president of Germany?

a. Martin Schulz
b. Joachim Gauck
c. Frank-Walter Steinmeier
d. None of the above
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Frank-Walter Steinmeier

Explanation:
Billed as Germany's "anti-Trump", centre-left former foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was elected on 12th Feb as the new ceremonial head of state.

The 61-year-old regularly polls as Germany's most popular politician.

He will represent the EU's top economy abroad and act as a kind of moral arbiter for the nation.

His Social Democrats (SPD) hope the appointment will boost their fortunes.

Their candidate Martin Schulz, the former European parliament president, readies to challenge Chancellor Angela Merkel in September elections.

Steinmeier received 931 of 1,239 valid votes after Merkel's conservatives, lacking a strong candidate of their own, agreed to back him to replace incumbent Joachim Gauck, 77, a former pastor from ex-communist East Germany.

The vote was held in Berlin's glass-domed Reichstag building by a special Federal Assembly, made up of national lawmakers and electors sent from Germany's 16 states.

Though the trained lawyer is usually measured in his speech, in the thick of last year's US election campaign Steinmeier labelled Donald Trump a "hate preacher".

As Steinmeier has prepared for the new post, which he assumes on March 19, he has vowed to serve as a "counterweight to the trend of boundless simplification.”

He is calling this approach "the best antidote to the populists".

A policy wonk by nature, Steinmeier served as advisor and then chief of staff to Merkel's predecessor, the SPD's Gerhard Schroeder.

In 2009, Steinmeier ran against Merkel and lost badly, only to return years later to serve in her cabinet.

Steinmeier is well known in the world's capitals, but his appointment worries some in eastern Europe, who see him as too soft on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Having Steinmeier move into the presidential Bellevue Castle in Berlin has emboldened the SPD.

For Germany's SDP, Steinmeier's election is a prelude to something bigger to come: a victory in September's elections against Merkel, according to some analysts.


2)   India and Germany have signed how many MoUs during Chancellor Merkel’s recent visit on 5th October 2015?

a. 16
b. 17
c. 18
d. 19
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: 18

Explanation:
India and Germany have signed around 18 MoUs including a land mark deal for fast tracking business approvals and other aspects to facilitate operation of German companies in Asia’s 3rd largest economy. The signing of the MoUs marks Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to New Delhi. The agreement is unique and the first of its kind which will ensure single point of contact in Indian administration for German companies. Other agreements were for enhancing cooperation in fields such as trade, intelligence, clean energy and defence manufacturing. The pacts signed included joint declaration of intent between Union HRD ministry and the federal foreign office of Germany for the promotion of German as a foreign language in India as well as the promotion of modern Indian languages in Germany.