德 国各主要政党提名神学家、前东德异见人士高克(Joachim Gauck)为下一任德国总统，这一决定暴露了德国总理默克尔(Angela Merkel)领导的中右翼联盟内出现的深层次分歧。 European Pressphoto Agency 高克（左）与德国总理默克尔，照片摄于上周日。 自由民主党(Free Democratic Party)支持高克。高克是主要的反对党社会民主党(Social Democrats)和绿党(Greens)支持的候选人。两年前默克尔为了扶植她亲自挑选的候选人武尔夫曾经反对过他。 武尔夫说，他没过做过任何违法的事情。 德国总统的位置很大程度上是个仪式性的虚位。但是选举总统的过程可能会影响政府执政联盟的未来。默克尔对提名过程的处理受到密切关注，并被视为其处理执政联盟事务的衡量标准，而美国和其他主要大国都在指望默克尔在解决欧元区债务危机的过程中展示领导力。 自由民主党(Free Democratic Party)对高克的支持挑战了默克尔的权威。根据知晓周末会谈情况的人士说，默克尔十分愤怒，但是她意识到自己不能说服自由民主党支持任何其他候选人。由于担心出现不可弥合的分歧，默克尔接受了高克。 尽管其联盟内出现了争吵，默克尔在德国选民中的民望却是空前的。最近的一次民意测验显示，将近70%的德国人认为，默克尔在总理的职位上表现出色。 如果能够帮助自由民主党提升民调支持率，并在即将到来的萨尔州和石勒苏益格-荷尔斯泰因州的选举中对该党有所帮助，此次关于高克的分歧最终可能会使联盟更加稳固。 德国总统由联邦议会选举产生，组成联邦议会的是下议院全体成员和同等数量的各州代表。默克尔执政联盟政党在联邦议会中以微弱的优势占多数席位。由于反对党和执政的政党联盟都支持高克，高克在3月18日当选几乎已成定局。 高克在1990年两德统一之后被更广泛的公众所熟知，当时他被任命管理一家机构，该机构成立的目的是保护和研究前东德秘密警察对东德民众进行监视的相关文件。 该机构被称作“高克机构”，高克后来以雄辩而富有激情的宣扬自由民主的演讲而出名。 The decision by Germany's main political parties to nominate Joachim Gauck, a theologian and former East German dissident, as the next German president has exposed deep rifts in Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right coalition. The trouble for Ms. Merkel began when her junior coalition partner, the pro-business Free Democrats, refused to back any of the conservative candidates presented by Ms. Merkel's Christian Democratic Union party over the weekend after President Christian Wulff resigned Friday amid a criminal investigation into his ties to businessmen. The FDP instead threw its weight behind Mr. Gauck, the candidate favored by the main opposition Social Democrats and Greens, and whom Ms. Merkel rejected two years ago when she pushed through Mr. Wulff, her handpicked candidate. Mr. Wulff says he has done nothing illegal. The German presidency is a largely ceremonial post. But the process of electing the president can influence the future of a government coalition. Ms. Merkel's handling of the nomination process is being scrutinized as a barometer of her handle on the coalition, as the U.S. and other major powers look to her to show leadership in resolving the euro-zone debt crisis. The FDP put Ms. Merkel's grip to the test by backing Mr. Gauck. She was furious, according to a person familiar with the weekend talks, but realized she couldn't persuade the FDP to support any other candidate. Fearing an irreparable split, Ms. Merkel accepted Mr. Gauck. Despite the bickering in her coalition, Ms. Merkel has never been more popular with German voters. Nearly 70% of Germans say she is doing a good job, according to a recent poll. The dispute with the FDP over Mr. Gauck could end up strengthening the coalition if it gives the FDP a boost in the polls and helps the party in coming state elections in Saar and Schleswig-Holstein. The president is elected by the Federal Assembly, made up of all the members of the lower house of parliament and an equal number of representatives from the states. Ms. Merkel's coalition parties have a razor-thin majority in the Federal Assembly. Because both the opposition and the government parties back Mr. Gauck, his election on March 18 is virtually certain. Mr. Gauck became known to the broader public after unification in 1990, when he was appointed to run the agency set up to preserve and study the surveillance files that the former East Germany's secret police kept on its citizens. The agency came to be called the 'Gauck Agency,' and Mr. Gauck became known for his eloquent and passionate speeches in defense of freedom and democracy. |
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