Germany in crisis after surprise

Germany in crisis after surprise resignation of President Horst Köhler.The President read a short televised statement announcing that he was going immediately because he had been so misunderstood over military operations abroad. On a trip last week to meet German troops in Afghanistan he had declared that a country such as Germany, dependent on exports and free trade, must be prepared to use military force.The country, he said, had to act “to protect our interests, for example, free-trade routes, or to prevent regional instability which might certainly have a negative effect on our trade, jobs and earnings”. “Köhler has said something openly that has been obvious from the beginning,” said Klaus Ernst, head of the Left party. “German soldiers are risking life and limb in Afghanistan to defend the [exports] of big economic interests.”

The President tried to correct his statements but it was clear that he had opened a debate about Afghanistan which could embarrass the Government.

“The criticism [of me] has gone so far that people are accusing me of supporting unconstitutional army operations,” Mr Köhler, 67, said. “There is absolutely no basis for such criticism.” Chancellor is under criticism across Europe for her hesitant leadership in the eurozone crisis. “Everything is falling apart,” said the former head of the Greens, Joschka Fischer. However, it is the Afghan war that is having the most troubling effect. The first Cabinet casualty of Ms Merkel’s centre-right coalition was Franz Joseph Jung, who had been slow to apologise for civilian casualties caused by a German-ordered attack in Kunduz province.On his visit President Köhler, a former head of the International Monetary Fund, asked soldiers what they thought would happen next in Afghanistan. The soldiers stared at their boots. Annoyed, the President turned to a US soldier who replied promptly: “I think we can win this one, Sir!” The President approved. “That’s the answer I wanted to hear.”
“It was an honour to serve Germany as President,” he said, and turned abruptly from the cameras.
source by-timesonline.