Germany

On Friday 17th February, German President and Head of State Christian Wulff resigned over corruption allegations, a day after the public prosecutor in Hannover called for his immunity to prosecution to be lifted. In his resignation speech, Wulff stated that he had lost the confidence and trust of the German people, and therefore could no longer be a moral authority for the nation. This is certainly true: his behaviour as the scandal unravelled hasinspired the creation of a new German verb, “wulffen”, meaning to be evasive without actually lying.

The controversy relates to a low-cost, undeclared loan that Wulff received from the wife of a friend, and his alleged acceptance of benefits, such as free holidays, from rich businessmen in return for political favours. He has also been criticised for his attempt to stop these issues becoming public: when he discovered that German newspaper Bild was going to reveal the loan story, he left an angry message on the voicemail of editor Kai Diekmann, saying that the story must not be published. Now that he has stepped down, Wulff is no longer immune from prosecution, and could face jail if he is proved to have committed a crime.

The whole incident is rather embarrassing for Angela Merkel, and calls into question her judgement of character, as she personally selected Wulff to be President. In a statement she said that she respected but regretted his decision.

Until a successor can be found, Horst Seehofer, head of the German Bundesrat, has assumed the President’s responsibilities. German magazine Der Spiegel lists possible replacements as, amongst others, Bundestag President Norbert Lammert, Joachim Gauck, the former Federal Commissioner for the Stasi archives, who ran against Wulff in 2010, and Ursula von Leyen, minister for labour and social policy, who, if elected, would become Germany’s first female president.

Image Source: European Parliament Audiovisual Service

9 November was the 20th anniversary of fall of the Berlin Wall. Celebrations were respectful, emotional, and triumphant. Pieces of the Wall were on display in European capitals, as citizens across the continent celebrated the fall of communism. British PM Gordon Brown joined Chancellor Merkel and others in Berlin, a symbol of how things have changed in 20 years. His predecessor Margaret Thatcher, who was in power at the time was horrified by the idea of a united Germany, and adamant that it should not be allowed to happen.

Photo: Flickr, EzLost

This is the percentage by which Eurozone economies have contracted in the first three months of this year. Eurostat released the figure this week, which is higher than the 2% drop that analysts had predicted. German exports fell at a faster rate than imports, playing a significant role in the overall decline. In fact, the German economy dropped 3.8% in this first quarter of 2009, marking the biggest contraction to the German economy since reunification, almost two decades ago. Italy also fared quite poorly, it’s GDP dropping 2.4% - the greatest drop in the Italian economy in almost three decades. The French economy shrunk 1.2%, as predicted. Sharp declines are not unique to the Eurozone, however. In the wider EU, GDP also fell by 2.5%.

Image: www.flickr.com/ Boyan Yurukov

The ratification process of the Lisbon treaty is on tracks. In the end of April Portugal, Denmark and the lowerhouse of Germany’s parliament ratified the new treaty. That brings the total number of countries that have ratified to ten. While the Europeans know that something is going on they generally have absolutely no idea what the treaty is all about. In most countries the politicians keep quiet on the subject, afraid to open Pandora’s Box, and the media are silent as well. It may seem as a good idea today not to consult the Europeans on the treaty, but it could come back as boomerang in a few years from know and hit very, very hard.

Michael Glos, the German Finance Minister is trying to make a case for his country to be compensated with CO2 emission permits in response to its efforts to phase out nuclear power. He believes that the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) should take into account the fact that Germany will emit an extra 150 million tonnes of CO2 as a result of the closing down of its 17 power plants. A similar system had been put into place for Sweden which also pulled out of nuclear power in the 1990s. However, should the 27 Member States all come up with good reasons to be granted exceptions to the ETS we can kiss our 2020 cuts good bye. (The EU is supposed to cut CO2 emissions by 20% compared to 1990 levels, by 2020)

The controversy between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues. Mrs. Merkel was not pleased with remarks made by Mr. Erdogan in Cologne on the integration of Turkish immigrants in Germany. Mrs. Merkel found that Erdogan acted as if he was the chancellor of Germany and retaliated that she did not think that the Germans had reached the end of the integration debate. In a speech given in Turkey, Erdogan has later retaliated that “if we do what Merkel wants, then we will lose our identity.” The tense rhetoric reflects a rising conflict between citizens with immigrant-background and citizens with non-immigrant background. A conflict that today is visible in many European societies. That is very bad news.