German President Resigns Over "Telling it Like it Is"

New York Times

By JUDY DEMPSEY

Published: May 31, 2010

BERLIN — President Horst Köhler of Germany resigned Monday amid a barrage of criticism for remarks he made during a visit to Afghanistan.

It was the first time in four decades that a German president has quit the post, the nation’s highest even though it is largely ceremonial.

Mr. Köhler set off the criticism when he said in an interview with Deutschland Radio, the public broadcasting station, that German soldiers serving in Afghanistan or with other peacekeeping missions were deployed to protect German economic interests.

His resignation was another blow for Chancellor Angela Merkel, a close friend and an important conservative ally. She had lobbied hard for him to become president, first in 2004 and again in May 2009, and his departure came just a week after another leading conservative politician, Roland Koch, resigned as premier of the state of Hesse, saying he had had enough of politics.

Mrs. Merkel said Monday that she regretted Mr. Köhler’s decision to resign, adding that she had tried to persuade him to change his mind when he phoned her about his decision.

“I was very surprised,” Mrs. Merkel said. “We had had a very good cooperation. I respect his decision.”

In the radio interview, which was conducted on May 22, Mr. Köhler, a former director of the International Monetary Fund, emphasized the importance of the nation’s economy.

“A country of our size,” he said, “with its focus on exports and thus reliance on foreign trade, must be aware that military deployments are necessary in an emergency to protect our interests, for example, when it comes to trade routes, for example, when it comes to preventing regional instabilities that could negatively influence our trade, jobs and incomes.”

In a short resignation statement delivered alongside his wife, Eva Luise, he said he regretted his remarks and the way he said they were misunderstood. He said he could not remain in office in the face of such intense criticism and loss of confidence.

“I regret that my comments in an important and difficult question for our nation were able to lead to misunderstandings,” Mr. Köhler said.

He complained that some critics had suggested he supported military “missions that are not covered by the Constitution.”

“This criticism lacks any basis,” he said. “It also is lacking in the necessary respect for the presidential office.”

He added, “It was an honor to serve Germany as federal president,” then walked off without taking questions.

Mr. Köhler’s resignation is certain to lead to a fresh debate over the role of German troops in Afghanistan and in other international missions.

Denis MacShane, a British Labour legislator and German expert, said that Mr. Köhler was only speaking the truth but that German commentators did not want to recognize what he had said.

“Köhler made the point that German military capability was relevant to German interests, including German economic interests,” Mr. MacShane said.

“As the world’s second-biggest exporter after China it is self-evidently in Germany’s interest to keep the world as open as possible for the free flow of trade and commerce. It is self-evidently in Germany’s interests to help defeat the growing scourge of piracy.”

Mr. MacShane added that Mr. Köhler’s remarks were “grotesquely and cynically misinterpreted by the German press.” He added, “He expressed the self-evident truth that German military power was now an expression of German national interests.”

Mrs. Merkel, who has come under repeated criticism from her own Christian Democratic Union party as lacking leadership ever since her new coalition of conservative and Free Democrats took office last October, had long tried to avoid dealing with Germany’s new role.

With Mr. Köhler’s resignation, analysts said Mrs. Merkel showed she was out of touch with what some of her closest allies thought.

“Merkel has not got a firm grip on her party,” said Nils Diederich, political scientist at the Free University in Berlin.

He added: “It’s as if she is out of her depth when it comes to deal with crisis over the euro, Greece, the future of Europe and Afghanistan.”

Opposition parties, after roundly criticizing Mr. Köhler last week, had only praise for him on Monday.

The Left Party, the only party that has consistently called for the withdrawal of Germany’s 4,500 troops from Afghanistan, said they respected Mr. Köhler’s decision to resign.

Gesine Lötzsch, leader of the Left Party, praised Mr. Köhler, saying he was speaking out about why German troops are involved in peacekeeping missions. His resignation showed why a major reassessment of Germany’s foreign policy was needed, she said.

“If that takes place as a result of the resignation of the federal president, then it will perhaps be a good signal,” Ms. Lötzsch said.

Sigmar Gabriel, leader of the Social Democrats, praised Mr. Köhler’s commitment to environmental issues and Africa, the president’s two main interests.

Guido Westerwelle, foreign minister and leader of the Free Democrats, said he regretted Mr. Köhler’s resignation.

A new president will have to be chosen by a joint session of the two houses of Parliament, the Bundestag, the lower house, and the Bundesrat, the upper house, by June 30.

In the meantime, the president of the Bundesrat, Jens Böhrnsen, the Social Democratic mayor of Bremen, will take over.