Helmut Kohl became the German chancellor about 40 years ago. In his honour, a new political foundation is launching. But if it isn’t renamed, his widow will file a lawsuit.
However, the event took place amid a threat from Kohl’s second wife and widow, Maike Kohl-Richter, to launch legal action unless the new foundation was renamed.
Merz said that the peaceful, free, and democratic post-Cold War Europe, which he said Kohl played a key role in establishing, “is more seriously threatened than ever in its history” amid Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.
Merz also praised Kohl for his role in German reunification and the collapse of the Soviet Union, saying the former chancellor “first recognized and then seized on the changes in the global history of his era earlier than others.”
The opposition leader said Russia’s invasion has shown the need for leadership in Europe: “Not leadership in the sense of dominance and dictating, but leadership in the sense of responsibility.”
