President Horst Koehler sent political shockwaves through Germany by announcing his immediate resignation yesterday afternoon. Koehler — who assumed the titular presidency in 2004 and was widely expected to serve out the remainder of his second term until 2014 — stepped down barely a week after controversial remarks about the use of Bundeswehr troops abroad triggered a political firestorm that left him politically damaged and isolated:
“A country of our size, with its focus on exports and thus reliance on foreign trade, must be aware that […] military deployments are necessary in an emergency to protect our interests — for example when it comes to trade routes, for example when it comes to preventing regional instabilities that could negatively influence our trade, jobs and incomes,” Koehler remarked after a visit to Bundeswehr troops in Afghanistan.
