German President Horst Koehler resigned Monday in a surprise move after being criticized for reportedly linking military deployments abroad with the country's economic interests -- creating a new headache for Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Koehler, a member of Merkel's Christian Democrats, cited a week of criticism over a radio interview he gave following a visit to German troops in Afghanistan.
He said in that broadcast that, for a country with Germany's dependency on exports, military deployments could be "necessary ... in order to defend our interests, for example free trade routes.
Opposition politicians had called for Koehler to take back the remarks and accused him of damaging public acceptance of German military missions abroad.
Koehler positioned himself as an outsider to Germany's political elite and enjoyed high popularity ratings. He occasionally refused to sign bills into law due to constitutional concerns, and once warned politicians against using the global financial crisis as a "backdrop for posturing."
The presidency is supposed to be above the political fray and carries little real power but traditionally functions as the nation's moral voice. The president is chosen by a special assembly of lower-house lawmakers and representatives of Germany's 16 states.
Opposition politicians had called for Koehler to take back the remarks and accused him of damaging public acceptance of German military missions abroad.
Koehler positioned himself as an outsider to Germany's political elite and enjoyed high popularity ratings. He occasionally refused to sign bills into law due to constitutional concerns, and once warned politicians against using the global financial crisis as a "backdrop for posturing."
The presidency is supposed to be above the political fray and carries little real power but traditionally functions as the nation's moral voice. The president is chosen by a special assembly of lower-house lawmakers and representatives of Germany's 16 states.
The Truth is ugly but at least he had the Balls to say it..."Sometimes to stand up for what you believe in you have to stand alone" .. well done me President !!
ReplyDeletealways money, power and recources> and the wars live on..
ReplyDeletehow the hell is if "free trade" if you have to use military force?
ReplyDeleteideology (colonialism then neocolonialism(, gun boat diplomacy and war... nice idea western civilisaiton eh? at least he called a spade a spade... funny thing how the ideology is coming to bite the colonisers in the butt.. you fools, the procyclical free trade was for the natives only... and it is now nesting in ALL your schools and governments... karma has a strange form of causation...
ReplyDeleteMerkel is a dual loyalist. Explains her position.
ReplyDeleteHorst Koehler let the 'not-so-secret' cat out of the bag by confirming that Europe, Israel and Western political and financial interests lie in long planned petroleum and gas piplines for India and South Central Asia traversing Afganistan Territory. As usual it was and still will be all about energy in the form of petroleum production and distribution.
ReplyDelete