Köhler’s quit leaves a vacuum that will add even more to Angela Merkel’s growing political worries, in between of criticism over a lack of decisive leadership, and a four-year low rating for her government in opinion polls.

Surprise Visit to Afghanistan Leads to Surprise Resignation

Horst Köhler ‘s surprise resignation follows heated criticism of his recent statements about the war in Afghanistan. During a May 22 visit to German soldiers in Afghanistan, Köhler told a reporter, “A country of our size, 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.”

Many interpreted the German President’s remark as a justification of war to protect economic interests, reigniting the controversy over Germany’s involvement in the war in Afghanistan.

Declining Political Power of the German President.

Though the Presidency is a high office, the duties are mostly ceremonial. Köhler received high marks in his first term for his strong speeches pushing for economic reform. However, his reputation as a public speaker suffered a sharp decline after the resignation of his press spokesman.

Karl-Rudolf Korte, one of the leading political scientists in Germany, suggested that it was not Köhler’s controversial comment alone that led to the surprise resignation. Korte explained that Köhler’s decision to resign might have been based largely on his declining influence.

Christian Wullf might take Horst Köhler´s Place

In yesterday´s news, the German government announced that they want suggest Christian Wulff, the current state premier of Lower Saxony, to be the follower of Horst Köhler. He accepted his nomination and thinks of the office of president “a great duty, with great responsibility“.

Right from the beginning, zu Guttenberg made clear that he stands for political directness and does not hesitate to speak his mind. Therefore, people were not wondering when he described the ongoings and involvements of German soldiers in a different way than his predecessor: he spoke of warlike events in Afghanistan.

Former defense minister Franz Josef Jung never mentioned any wordcombinations related to “war” when the military tasks of the German Bundeswehr were discussed. Of course, war in a distinct meaning can only take place among states due to the law of nations; but to be honest, it is quite euphemistic not to make us of “war” given the fact that even some German soldiers felt and talked of war in Afghanistan.

Zu Guttenberg also had to deal with the case of Colonel Georg Klein, who ordered the strike against the Taliban back in September 4, which caused the death of 69 Taliban fighters and 30 civilians, according to the Afghan government.  This is probably the most deadful military attack with German participation after World War II. The defense minister came to the conclusion that the bombing of two fuel trucks was an appropriate action in spite of some procedural errors.

The attitude of zu Guttenberg was greeted by German soldiers who liked his straightforward words but some European ministers still found that the bombing was a mistake. Especially the utterance of “warlike events” in Afghanistan was not accepted by politicians ot the SPD, the social democtrats in Germany. Only the future can show us, if the rather new view on the ongoings in Afghanistan will finally bring a change. After about 30 years of terrorism and war (or warlike events), the country needs peace.