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With the German presidential election coming up fast on 30 June, Angela Merkel is going to have a tough time plugging her conservative candidate Christian Wulff against a popular left-wing opponent. Several officials in her own coalition, as well as much of the press, have already come out in favour of Joachim Gauck, the candidate put forward by the Social Democrats and the Greens. Gauck, who served for ten years as Federal Commissioner for the Stasi archives, in charge of uncovering the crimes committed by the East German secret police, would be "the better president", headlines Der Spiegel. In Germany, where outstanding politicians from the east are few and far between, Gauck has got everything going for him. Born in 1940, this former Protestant pastor was one of the revolutionaries who played a part in ousting the Communist regime. Elected to the East German parliament in 1990, he does not belong to any party and has a reputation for being a strong, independent intellectual – and rather stylish to boot. In throwing all her weight behind Wulff, a conservative politician through and through and a rival within her own party, Angela Merkel's chancellorship would be severely dented if Gauck were to win the day.
A conversation with investigative reporters Stefano Valentino and Giorgio Michalopoulos, who have dissected the dark underbelly of green finance for Voxeurop and won several awards for their work.
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