low graphics version | feedback | help
Analysis: Kohl under fire
Mr Kohl arrives to face questions from his party |
By European Affairs analyst William Horsley
The admission by the former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl that he approved the use of secret bank accounts to keep political slush funds for many years threatens both his own reputation and that of his party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
The former German leader was ousted from power in elections little more than one year ago, but is now the CDU's honorary chairman.
He has denied any suggestion of bribery arising from the disclosure that his party took a large secret donation from an arms dealer in 1991.
During his 25 years as its chairman, Helmut Kohl kept an iron grip on his own party. He was renowned for his huge network of personal allies in the CDU, which enabled him to stay on as leader long after some others in the party would have liked.
Yet he managed to present the image of a man who was personally incorruptible, and aloof from every scandal. In part he did so by intimidating those he dealt with in politics and the media.
Unanswered questions
Now that picture is being suddenly changed. So far Mr Kohl has admitted only a lack of transparency in the way he approved a number of secret party bank accounts.
 The breaking of the scandal reflects the end of Mr Kohl's personal domination of his party.  |
| William Horsley |
Many questions remain unanswered. The breaking of the scandal now reflects the end of Mr Kohl's personal domination of his party.
It was one of his bitterest internal party rivals, the former secretary-general Heiner Geissler, who first confirmed reports about the secret accounts.
Now that Helmut Kohl's powers of patronage are all but over, other figures may also prove less than loyal to their former boss.
In Germany very damaging scandals are rare, and it is rarer still for them to ruin big careers.
But throughout the 1990s, dark rumours circulated in Bonn about large sums of money from murky arms deals flowing to the hands of political figures.
Reputation
The CDU now stands to lose part of its commanding lead in opinion polls over Chancellor Schroeder's beleaguered centre-left government.
The scandal will damage its chances of defeating the Social Democrats in two important regional elections in the New Year, in Schleswig-Holstein and North-Rhine Westfalia.
And Helmut Kohl faces a struggle to prevent his reputation as one of Germany's great post-war leaders from being damaged, perhaps badly, by this scandal.
|
Search BBC News Online |
|
|
 Advanced search options | |
| |
 | |
 | |
| |
 | BBC RADIO NEWS |
| |
| |
 | BBC ONE TV NEWS |
| |
| |
| WORLD NEWS SUMMARY |
| |
| |
| |
| |
 | PROGRAMMES GUIDE |
Country profiles
|
|
See also: |
|
|
|
 |
30 Nov 99 | Europe |
|
Kohl donations scandal grows |
| |
|
|
30 Nov 99 | Europe |
|
Kohl's statement: 'I reject all allegations' |
| |
|
|
| Europe |
|
Kohl's mark on history |
| |
|
|
26 Nov 99 | Europe |
|
Scandals hit German politics |
| |
|
|
Internet links: |
|
|
|
|
|
Christian Democratic Union (in German) |
| |
|
|
Social Democrat Party |
| |
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites |
|
Links to other Europe stories are at the foot of the page.
E-mail this story to a friend
~RS~a~RS~international~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~59~RS~)