Death of a Political Giant

Helmut Kohl died on the 16 June 2017. He served as Chancellor of Germany between 1982 and 1998 and presided over the reunification of Germany in 1990. His legacy, however, remains mixed.

In my piece for The Times of Malta (29.VI.2017), I pay tribute to Helmut Kohl and try to synthesize his legacy:

"The ‘historical’ judgement he so longed for will be broadly positive but fair. The European Union will be holding an act of state to mark his death, and he will be interred in the grounds of the historic Speyer Cathedral. This is fitting since no other modern German statesman can ever claim to have reunited a divided country.

Kohl sought to mould Germany in the image of Europe. It was through this strategy that Germany became, once again, a political giant. His protégé, Angela Merkel, now seeks to mould Europe in the image of Germany. Whether this will be the undoing of Kohl’s legacy remains to be seen."

The full article may be read here.