Commentary: King Of The Discounts - Why German President Wulff Should Quit

It's also unseemly for the president to be the country's discount king. The hunt for the best price stems from small-mindedness, unless it's the result of financial need. And in a democracy, public offices should be held by representatives of the people, not by privileged people.

Upgrades: When pubescent teenagers dream of a grand life, they dream of the movies. Many see glamor as a great reward. Wulff also likes this form of glamor, and he too wants to upgrade himself by associating with people in the film industry.

Wulff vacationed at a villa owned by finance entrepreneur Carsten Maschmeyer, who is in a relationship with the film star Veronica Ferres. He accepted an invitation from Zentis, a German food company, to attend the Film Ball in Munich. He had his film producer friend David Groenewold invite him to parties peppered with actors. Groenewold also used his credit card to pay for Wulff and his wife to stay at a hotel on the resort island of Sylt.

Aside from the issue of discounts, it would be nice if a politician would at least treat his offices as sufficiently important and uplifting to eliminate the desire for further upgrades. Democracy doesn't deserve Wulff's childish yearning for the glamorous world of film.

Self-abasement: A wealthy man who craves discounts demeans himself. A senior politician who feels the need to upgrade his image by associating with glamorous film stars demeans himself. A president who snarls into the cellphone voice-mail of the editor-in-chief of Bild newspaper demeans himself. And anyone who defends his actions the way Wulff has been doing, blatantly demeans himself.

Although Groenewold paid the 2007 hotel bill with his credit card, Wulff reimbursed him with cash, Wulff's attorney claimed. In other words, the governor of the State of Lower Saxony was standing there, handing a stack of banknotes to a man who is 14 years his junior. If that isn't a lie, one would almost wish it were, because it's so undignified. And if it is a lie, Wulff may have shown that he was corrupt, because the same man, Groenewold, received a loan guarantee from the State of Lower Saxony. These are the alternatives Wulff has to offer.

These are not the alternatives for a head of state. A politician debases both himself and his office with such behavior, which is why this collection of many minor details becomes a serious case. Christian Wulff lacks the character to hold the highest office in the country. He drags it down to an intolerable level. It is high time he stepped down.

Intellpuke: You can read this commentary by Spiegel Online journalist Dirk Kurbjuweit in context here: www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,815048,00.html
This article was translated from the German for Spiegel by Christopher Sultan.

Source: http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Commentary-King-Of-The-Discounts-Why-German-President-Wulff-Should-Quit-33924.html

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