Gordon Schnieder Appointed Rhineland-Palatinate Minister President; Manuel Kneuer Named Schweinfurt Deputy Landrat

Catholic bishops Karl‑Heinz Wiesemann of Speyer and Stephan Ackermann of Trier publicly congratulated Gordon Schnieder, the newly elected Minister President of Rhineland‑Palatinate. Schnieder, a CDU politician, leads a coalition with the SPD that commands more than two‑thirds of the state parliament. The bishops urged the new government to pursue open dialogue, responsible action and to let Christian values guide its decisions. Wiesemann said, “Real community arises where people listen to each other, take responsibility and work together for the common good.”

In the Bavarian district of Schweinfurt, the freshly constituted Kreistag held its constituting session on 18 May 2026. The council elected Manuel Kneuer (CSU), mayor of Gochsheim, as the deputy to Landrat Florian Töpper (SPD) with 53 votes, and also appointed Stefan Rottmann (SPD) and Thomas Vizl (Greens) as additional deputies. The meeting swore in 20 new council members for the 2026‑2032 term and set up committee structures for the district’s administration.