Wulff sworn in as German president

Christan Wulff was sworn in as Germany’s new president on Friday, two days after being elected by lawmakers. But victory for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s preferred candidate was a narrow one with many of her own party not voting for the former premier of Lower Saxony.

Despite the divisions surrounding his appointment, Wulff vowed to be a president for all. He told the Bundestag: “It is important for me to create links between young and old, between people from East and West, between natives Germans and immigrants, employers, employees and jobless, between able-bodied people and the disabled.”

At 51, Wulff is Germany’s youngest-ever president. His 36-year-old wife, glamorous PR executive Bettina, also becomes the country’s youngest-ever First Lady.

The job became available a month ago when Horst Koehler quit. Opinion polls say 72 percent of Germans think Wulff will be a good president.

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