Presidential election weakens chancellor

Germany has a new federal president since Wednesday evening: conservative politician Christian Wulff. The fact that his victory was such a narrow one is a defeat for his party colleague German Chancellor Angela Merkel, writes the liberal daily La Stampa: "An unprecedented blow for the chancellor whose governing coalition has never managed to really get going after a bad start and whose popularity has plunged in recent weeks according to surveys. Angela Merkel's drama lasted nine hours. The chancellor had produced him out of nowhere after President Horst Köhler resigned in a surprise move owing to a gaffe in connection with the Afghanistan mission. Wulff's move into Schloss Bellevue [the presidential seat in Berlin] seemed secure although several representatives of the government majority had announced they would vote for the charismatic candidate of the Social Democrats and Greens. The first cold shower came with the first round of voting. There were apparently 44 rebels within the ruling majority, an huge figure."

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