I don't know what to think about that, but...
...way to to go, Herr Bundespräsident.
I admit I haven't been following the whole debate about the statement of our Federal President regarding the military operation in Afghanistan, but what people have been harshly criticising is that Federal President Köhler mentioned that sometimes, economic interests had to be secured by (military) force.
German original version goes like this: "Meine Einschätzung ist aber, dass insgesamt wir auf dem Wege sind, doch auch in der Breite der Gesellschaft zu verstehen, dass ein Land unserer Größe mit dieser Außenhandelsorientierung und damit auch Außenhandelsabhängigkeit auch wissen muss, dass im Zweifel, im Notfall auch militärischer Einsatz notwendig ist, um unsere Interessen zu wahren, zum Beispiel freie Handelswege, zum Beispiel ganze regionale Instabilitäten zu verhindern, die mit Sicherheit dann auch auf unsere Chancen zurückschlagen negativ durch Handel, Arbeitsplätze und Einkommen. Alles das soll diskutiert werden und ich glaube, wir sind auf einem nicht so schlechten Weg."
(extract from the same article as linked above, bold highlighting by me)
As you can read in the article linked above, there has been harsh critique, even going so far as to insinuate the Federal President had moved outside the boundaries of the Basic Constitutional Law.
Today, Federal President Horst Köhler resigned from office. In his speech, he stated that above mentioned critique regarding the Basic Constitutional Law lacked respect towards his office. Reminder: the Federal President is the Head of State in Germany. People tend to forget that because the Chancellor gets more screen time, so to speak.
I was unlocking my bike when two students passed me and I heard one of them say, "hey, do you know Köhler resigned?" The reaction from the bystanders, me included, could basically be summed up by WTF.
Now, remember I had not followed the whole debate (which I should have, it is KIND OF important, right), and I had always thought of the Federal President as a nice uncle-of-sorts because all he ever does is deliver speeches as the representative of the State. Therefore, when I researched about his abrupt resigning, I was a bit shocked to learn what he had said.
Several politicians have, however, stated that what he said was actually NOT against the Basic Constitutional Law; furthermore, something called "Weißbuch" (where the gouvernment describes what is necessary and vital to ensure safety) states that routes of transport are to be secure and secured all the time; the measures taken against pirates is one example of this.
Now what is my opinion on this? I really don't know. All I know is that I get a curious feeling in my stomach because... this is another political earthquake, and with all those other political and non-political "earthquakes" all around the world, something just does not feel right for me.
Also, I caught a glimpse of an article stating that BP lacks the means to stop oil from polluting the ocean even more. I do NOT WANT to think about where this will lead, but. But. This is serious trouble. I also can't find the article anymore and also can't remember where I saw it, so it might have been a hoax or false alarm - and goodness do I hope it was.
I admit I haven't been following the whole debate about the statement of our Federal President regarding the military operation in Afghanistan, but what people have been harshly criticising is that Federal President Köhler mentioned that sometimes, economic interests had to be secured by (military) force.
German original version goes like this: "Meine Einschätzung ist aber, dass insgesamt wir auf dem Wege sind, doch auch in der Breite der Gesellschaft zu verstehen, dass ein Land unserer Größe mit dieser Außenhandelsorientierung und damit auch Außenhandelsabhängigkeit auch wissen muss, dass im Zweifel, im Notfall auch militärischer Einsatz notwendig ist, um unsere Interessen zu wahren, zum Beispiel freie Handelswege, zum Beispiel ganze regionale Instabilitäten zu verhindern, die mit Sicherheit dann auch auf unsere Chancen zurückschlagen negativ durch Handel, Arbeitsplätze und Einkommen. Alles das soll diskutiert werden und ich glaube, wir sind auf einem nicht so schlechten Weg."
(extract from the same article as linked above, bold highlighting by me)
As you can read in the article linked above, there has been harsh critique, even going so far as to insinuate the Federal President had moved outside the boundaries of the Basic Constitutional Law.
Today, Federal President Horst Köhler resigned from office. In his speech, he stated that above mentioned critique regarding the Basic Constitutional Law lacked respect towards his office. Reminder: the Federal President is the Head of State in Germany. People tend to forget that because the Chancellor gets more screen time, so to speak.
I was unlocking my bike when two students passed me and I heard one of them say, "hey, do you know Köhler resigned?" The reaction from the bystanders, me included, could basically be summed up by WTF.
Now, remember I had not followed the whole debate (which I should have, it is KIND OF important, right), and I had always thought of the Federal President as a nice uncle-of-sorts because all he ever does is deliver speeches as the representative of the State. Therefore, when I researched about his abrupt resigning, I was a bit shocked to learn what he had said.
Several politicians have, however, stated that what he said was actually NOT against the Basic Constitutional Law; furthermore, something called "Weißbuch" (where the gouvernment describes what is necessary and vital to ensure safety) states that routes of transport are to be secure and secured all the time; the measures taken against pirates is one example of this.
Now what is my opinion on this? I really don't know. All I know is that I get a curious feeling in my stomach because... this is another political earthquake, and with all those other political and non-political "earthquakes" all around the world, something just does not feel right for me.
Also, I caught a glimpse of an article stating that BP lacks the means to stop oil from polluting the ocean even more. I do NOT WANT to think about where this will lead, but. But. This is serious trouble. I also can't find the article anymore and also can't remember where I saw it, so it might have been a hoax or false alarm - and goodness do I hope it was.