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Former German president goes on corruption trial
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Christian Wulff yesterday became Germany’s first post-war president to go on trial, charged with corruption for accepting some 700 euros for a hotel stay and meals during an Oktoberfest beer festival when he was a state premier.
Once seen as one of the country’s brightest political talents, Wulff served just 20 months as president before he resigned last year over accusations he accepted favors before he was elected president in 2010.
Wulff, 54, a former ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, denied the allegations, saying he hoped to clear his name with a victory in court after rejecting an offer from state prosecutors to settle the case with an out-of-court payment.
In court, Wulff delivered a 50-minute statement in which he criticized state prosecutors for a case he called a “farce.”
“The personal damage to me and my family will last, probably for the rest of my life,” he said. “I never accepted any deal. I’m here because I want justice to be done.”
Wulff’s fall from the pinnacle of German politics to the Hanover courtroom dock has fascinated Germans, becoming the subject of countless talk shows and films.
It was also an embarrassment to Merkel, who hand-picked Wulff as her candidate for president in 2010 and stuck with her party ally as the controversy grew to fever pitch.
The scandal also damaged Merkel’s Christian Democrats and contributed to her party’s defeat in the Lower Saxony regional election in January.
“This is certainly not an easy day for me,” Wulff told reporters on his way into the court in Hanover, the capital of Lower Saxony where he was the state premier from 2003 to 2010.
“I’m quite confident that I’ll be able to clear away the last remaining charges against me.”
Wulff, once a rising star in the CDU and a popular regional leader who was even tipped to succeed Merkel, resigned on Febuary 17, 2012 after prosecutors asked parliament to lift his immunity on suspicion he had accepted undue privileges.
The charges stem from his 2008 visit to the Munich Oktoberfest beer festival. Prosecutors say film producer David Groenewold covered his hotel and meal expenses worth 719 euros (US$960).
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