Lone Wulff

摘要

Tie German news media do not agree about much. But they have been almost at one in attacking Christian Wulff, the federal president, as the year ticked over. His sin, in their eyes, was not just to have borrowed €500,000 ($650,000) from the wife of a business friend on soft terms in 2008 when he was premier of the state of Lower Saxony. What irked them more was the news that he had made somewhat gauche attempts to suppress the story by threatening Kai Diekmann, editor of Bild, Germany's biggest tabloid daily, with "war" when he learnt that the newspaper planned to print the home-loan story. His threats cut no ice; Bild went ahead and published. Two days later, Mr Wulff called Mr Diekmann again to apologise. But the storm has only grown. Politicians and pundits from left and right are questioning Mr Wulff's ability to survive in his largely ceremonial role, in which he is meant to embody the conscience of the nation. The public is more divided, with a recent poll showing a roughly even split between those who think he should resign and those who want him to stay.