Friday, February 17, 2012

German President quits

I haven't really followed the German President saga over the last few months in great detail, but it is worth bearing in mind that, as reported by BBC News, the president's role is largely ceremonial, to serve as a moral authority for the nation. It is blatantly obvious that Wulff failed to do that. As Der Spiegel put it: Wulff hat es selbst vermasselt. Es bleibt das Bild eines Gernegroß, der zu klein war für das Amt, dem letztlich seine Mittelmäßigkeit zum Verhängnis wurde (loosely translated as: Wulff has only himself to blame. What remains is the image of a show-off who was unable to do justice to the role, whose mediocrity was ultimately his undoing).

With the invaluable benefit of hindsight it seems clear now that Joachim Gauck would have been the better choice.