Volume 45, Number 17 · November 5, 1998
Goodbye to Bonn
By Timothy Garton Ash
'This is a historic moment,' a stalwart German Christian Democrat whispered to me as the familiar giant figure of Helmut Kohl mounted the stage at party headquarters in Bonn, shortly before seven o'clock on the evening of Sunday, September 27, 1998. As if it needed saying! Given the scale of the Christian Democrats' electoral defeat, we all guessed that, after a staggering sixteen years in power, the chancellor of German and European unification would be stepping down. When the cries of 'Helmut! Helmut!' had finally abated, he gave a dignified short speech. He congratulated the Social Democrat Gerhard Schröder on his victory and wished him 'a happy hand for our land.' As for himself, he would now also retire as party leader. It felt as if the Alps had suddenly announced their departure.
Feature, 4109 words
To read the full text of this piece, please choose one of the following options:
|
If you are already a subscriber to the Review's electronic edition, please sign in: |
To subscribe to the electronic edition, please press the button below. |
To purchase access to this article for $3, please press the button below. |