Backing grows for Wulff successor

Published on Monday 20 February 2012 01:19

One of the parties in Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition has joined the opposition in backing a former East German rights activist for the presidency, raising pressure on the chancellor to support a candidate she opposed less than two years ago.

Mrs Merkel and other senior figures in her government met yesterday to discuss a successor to Christian Wulff who resigned as German president on Friday in a scandal over financial favours.

Mr Wulff’s departure was a blow to Mrs Merkel who pushed through his election in 2010 despite the fact many Germans preferred rival candidate Joachim Gauck, a former protestant pastor in East Germany who oversaw the opening up of the Stasi secret police archives after the collapse of Communism.

Yesterday her coalition partner, the Free Democrats (FDP), unanimously backed the 72-year old Mr Gauck’s candidacy.

“Gauck is someone who is above party politics. He’s exactly what we need right now,” said Holger Zastrow, a deputy leader of the FDP from the state of Saxony. The opposition Social Democrats and Greens, who nominated Gauck two years ago, also want him to succeed Mr Wulff.