In many German municipalities, the members of a new council, and sometimes the mayor, are formally committed to their duties with a handshake. The rules of procedure of Holm, in Schleswig-Holstein, say that the newly elected mayor must commit his deputies and all other members auf die gewissenhafte Erfüllung ihrer Obliegenheiten durch Handschlag, to the conscientious performance of their duties by handshake. At the session of 3 May 2019 in Modautal, in Hesse, the council chair committed the new mayor durch Handschlag auf die gewissenhafte Erfüllung seiner Aufgaben, by handshake to the conscientious performance of his duties.