Mr Wulff says sorry for home loan ‘war’ gaffe

GERMAN president Christian Wulff has admitted he made a “grave mistake” by trying to prevent a newspaper publishing an embarrassing story about a home loan, but said he did nothing illegal and won’t resign.

The scandal that has swirled around Mr Wulff since mid-December risks becoming a major disraction for chancellor Angela Merkel, who nominated him for the post in 2010.

Mr Wulff had remained silent since news broke on Monday that he had left a voicemail message last month for the editor of German daily Bild in which he threatened “war” if the paper published the article on his low interest-rate home loan.

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But with pressure growing for him to step down, he spoke last night on German television to try to calm the storm.

“The call to the chief editor of Bild was a grave mistake, for which I am sorry and for which I apologise,” he said.

Asked if he considered resigning, he said: “No, because I had great support from many citizens, my friends and employees. I like fulfilling my duties and have taken the job for five years and want to show I was a good, successful president.”

It was unclear whether the apology would be enough to ease the pressure on Mr Wulff, a former state premier from Lower Saxony and senior figure in Mrs Merkel’s Christian Democrat party to step aside.

Annika Breidthardt