Readers blast political elite as Wulff debacle rumbles on

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The appearance of German President Christian Wulff on German television brought fresh opinions to an already lively debate.

The president has come under fire over his telephone calls to the mass-circulation daily newspaper Bild, warning of "consequences" if it continued to pursue details of his private dealings. The president has been at the center of a media storm since details of his home loan from the wife of a wealthy friend came to light.

Many of our readers in Asia and Africa appeared to be united in their opinion: It is right that Germany discusses the German president.

"I believe it is good that he is held to account," said a commentary on the Facebook site of Deutsche Welle's Persian service. Another reader remarked that things could always be worse. "You Germans are lucky. If you call this a scandal, what would you call the embezzlement of billions of euros in Iran?"

The president has been accused of trying to exert undue influence over the press

Other site users also registered frustrations with regimes in their own countries, one of them asking: "are there any politicians who aren't corrupt?" Another contributor observed soberly "if you have corrupt politicians, we have pure scavengers."

In certain countries, such a course of events would be unthinkable, wrote one reader from China. The entire debate represented "the difference between freedom and democracy on the one hand and rigidity and secrecy on the other." In a free nation such as Germany, the contributor wrote, it was possible to publicly discuss what a president did.

Calls to step down

Numerous comments by SMS came directed personally at Christian Wulff. Most of them called from him to resign, mainly on the grounds of his call to BILD.

"Herr President, you should not suppress freedom of the press in Germany, let the media get on with their job," wrote Nassor Maziku, from Tabora. A reader named Halima, from Dar es Salaam made a bitter comparision with her own country. At least Wulff had taken a loan from a friend, Halima said. "Here, the politicians take their money directly from the taxpayers," her message read.

On the Facebook site of the Russian service, many compared the situation with the situation in their country. "It's just the same as it is with us. No-one can drive him out of office," said Alex Alexandrov. Although Wulff had "done nothing wrong by Russian standards," said Julij Leontov, the way that the media had behaved was correct. "I salute the German media," she said.

'Germany is Absurdistan'

Frustration with politicians was a theme that resonated in all parts of the world in response to this topic. "Politicians are rogues, all of them," wrote Recai Comlekcioglu from Turkey. However, Kamuran Sezer demonstrated some understanding for the president's difficulties, expressing a wish that Wulff should be able to have a private life. Meanwhile, Martin Zlatanov from Bulgaria was of the opinion that Germany had, once again, proven "that it is an Absurdistan." He wrote that "in other countries, under the same circumstances, politicians would have tendered their resignation a long time ago."

One reader suggested Germany should adopt a monarchy like that in the Netherlands

Brazilian reader Andressa Tenorio was another who drew parallels with her own country. "Wulff has learned his business by taking a look at our politicians here in Brazil," she said.

Mark H. Freeman, from the USA, posted a notice on DW's English language Facebook page that was supportive of Wulff. "My impression is that he has done a lot of good for Germany," he said. "I'm not sure that what he has done rises to the level of being removed from office. He is a human being right?"

A return of the crown?

A similar picture was painted by Fred Sroka from Canada, who claimed the media frenzy over Wulff was "much ado about nothing."

Meawhile, DeWitt Hoopes in the US pointed out that the previous German President Horst Köhler had resigned only a year and a half ago and suggested a somewhat radical reform of the German system of government - a system of constitutional monarchy. "This suggestion is not undemocratic," he said. "The Scandinavian and Dutch monarchs are very popular and they fulfill a very simple but very important ceremonial role. They can act as the perfect bridge between political parties."

Silvia Wiemer in Honduras said that she thought the media scolding that Wulff had endured might be enough of a punishment for any of the poor judgment that the president had shown. Who amongst us, she asked, had never lost their composure under pressure.

Author: Michael Borgers / rc
Editor: Andy Valvur