Germany goes to the polls next week to elect a new President in an election which is being widely regarded – in Europe as well as in Germany – as an unofficial referendum on the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Beset by problems concerning her centre-right coalition government, including internal fighting and the furore over her handling of the Greek economic crisis and the difficulties facing the troubled euro, Chancellor Merkel’s candidate in the election, Christian Wulff, could be staring defeat in the face, according to some early opinion polls.
The election was called after the surprise resignation of President Horst Köhler following comments he made during a visit to German troops serving in Afghanistan which were interpreted by anti-war politicians and sections of the media in Germany as favouring the use of force to safeguard German economic interests – historically known as gunboat diplomacy.
Mr Köhler had been a close confidant to Mrs Merkel – she often turned to him for advice regarding Germany’s current economic woes. The alliance over which Chancellor Merkel presides, consisting of her conservative Christian Democrats together with the Christian Social Union and the Free Democrats, has recently suffered two serious resignations. The first to walk was Roland Koch, who questioned the leadership skills of the German leader. Next to abandon what some commentators are now describing as Mrs Merkel’s sinking ship was Franz Joseph Jung, who had been slow to apologise for civilian deaths caused by German military operations in Afghanistan.
There have also been rows between the CDU, CSU and FDP in the governing coalition over taxes, the correct approach to the financial markets, health and energy as well as the future of the military.
There appears to be little willingness to compromise and the government’s apparent inability to make decisions has led to a string of unflattering comparisons by commentators in newspapers and on television in Germany between the coalition and “a deflated Michelin man” and even “someone suffering from constipation”.
Daniel Brössler of the Süddeutsche Zeitung said the administration was like an old banger: “The Merkel cabinet is no longer steering. It resembles a car where the only thing that’s working is the brakes.”
Defeat for Chancellor Merkel’s candidate in the forthcoming election could spell the end for her ruling coalition. As Napoleon Bonaparte once famously said, it could just be “the one drop of water which makes the cup run over”.
