Monday, March 19, 2012

Great things are expected ....

... from the new German President, Joachim Gauck, former Pastor in East Germany (as was Chancellor Merkel's father) also civil rights campaigner before the fall of the Wall and former head of the huge Stasi archive where many itneresting things were discovered by many people.

The post of the President has traditionally been little more than ceremonial but there is a feeling that Herr Gauck might use the position to promote certain political values like freedom and democracy. Given that there has been the odd disagreement over certain EU treaties and proposals though the German Constitutional Court managed, with increasing difficulty, to find a compromise each time, an active and opinionated President will be interesting to watch.

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