German President Wulff to resign

[minionofmidas]

Yeah, it's amusing.

[minionofmidas]

It will be forgotten by 2013. Wulff might be somewhat damaged goods forever, but it won't remain an acute issue that long. It's just too minor really.

[minionofmidas]

Did he have his Christmas speech?

Yeah, of course.

[minionofmidas]

Wulff should retire. He has lost the credibility that is necessary to be a moral authority.

Did Wulff have a "moral authority" in first place? After all, he was just an unimpressive party loyalist picked to fill a seat, suddenly vacated by Koehler.

"Moral authority" was always important for German presidency because, frankly, there is nothing else about the office. Yet Wulff is a total joke when compared to such figures as Heuss, Heinemann, Weizsacker or Rau.

But he holds up well compared to Heinrich Lübke and Karl Carstens!

[minionofmidas]

There is a constitutional impeachment process, for this office only. You need 2/3rd of the Bundestag to vote to impeach, and then the Constitutional Court to find him guilty in order to remove him. The Court may also issue an injunction keeping him from carrying out the duties of the office between the vote and the trial. However, he would have to be found guilty of violating the constitution, or committing a crime while in office, with intent in order to be removed.
Quite apart from the obviously absent political will to go through with this never-used procedure, I don't think the conditions are actually met. (Except that he signed the new election law without a hitch... hmmm... that probably was violating the Constitution with intent. )

[minionofmidas]

In june 2010, Horst Köhler resigned as President days before a state trip to Burkina Faso.

In 2012, Christian Wulff resigned just days before that same state trip to Burkina Faso, postponed due to Köhler's resignation and then scheduling issues etc.

[minionofmidas]

They know something we don't... that there is an assassin lurking in Ougadougou. Probably somebody rightfully offended at being equated with tax fraud enablers.

[minionofmidas]

Angela Merkel is from West Germany.