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Criticised for remarking while on a visit to Afghanistan that an export reliant country like Germany occasionally has to defend its economic interests, the German president tendered his resignation on 31 May. Horst Köhler's protest against "lack of respect for his official role" is yet another headache for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who will now have to find another candidate before the federal assembly votes to elect a new president at the end of the month. For Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the president has "deserted" his comrades in arms. Köhler "has shown his disloyalty by deserting a chancellor who has always supported him at a time when she has to face a difficult situation," announces the conservative daily. "It is a cowardly act" because he refused to stand his ground "when he came under fire for Afghanistan — an option that is not available to German troops — and he has failed to do his duty as a statesman... and defend voters interests in difficult times."
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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