Building bridges, bringing people together, giving them food for thought: Federal President Christian Wulff began his term of office by explaining how he sees his new role as the first man in the German state. In his inaugural speech to the German Bundestag on 2 July, he sought to address as many groups in society as possible: “It is important to me to create links between young and old, between people from east and west, German natives and immigrants, employers and the unemployed, able-bodied people and the disabled.”
At 51, Christian Wulff is the youngest of the ten German Federal Presidents who have held office to date. A Christian Democrat, he wants to act as a mediator in politics and society – to be the head of state for all Germans. In his speech to the Bundestag, Wulff called on people to approach one another without prejudice, to listen attentively and talk to each other. He spoke of a colourful Germany whose diversity and talent made the country endearing and a place worth living in. Wulff, who was Minister-President of Lower Saxony for seven years until he was elected Federal President, has himself been actively promoting this image of Germany: he received a lot of praise for appointing the first minister of Turkish origin to a state (Land) cabinet. Conservative but unconventional: with Christian Wulff and his second wife Bettina a young patchwork family will be Germany’s “first family” for the first time. Both have children from previous relationships and a son together.
In politics Wulff sees himself as a facilitator. His role model is Nelson Mandela. Wulff wants to encourage people to focus on the substance of arguments and to demand respect in the political debate. This understanding of his office has gone down well: roughly three-quarters of Germans already consider him a good, credible President. Some 80% believe he will do a good job of representing Germany in the world.
Looking back: after Horst Köhler’s sudden resignation, Christian Wulff was nominated for the position as the candidate of the ruling coalition (CDU/CSU and FDP). On 30 June the Federal Convention elected him from among four candidates as Germany’s tenth Federal President – in the third and final ballot after over nine hours. Not exactly a dream start, but Wulff was not deterred. He says: “I’ve actually learned more from defeats than from victories.”
Disciplined, hardworking, friendly, obliging – this was how people in the state of Lower Saxony got to know Christian Wulff when he was their Minister-President. Wulff was born in Osnabrück, is a lawyer by profession and has been a politician for over 30 years. The stepping stones in his political career were the Schüler-Union (CDU school student organization), Junge Union (CDU youth organization), he was city councillor, member of the state parliament, leader of the CDU state parliamentary group and CDU chairman in Lower Saxony, CDU deputy federal chairman and Lower Saxony’s Minister-President. And yet, Wulff once said he lacked a “passion for power”. Now he is Federal President, a position that suits his political approach. He intends to deliver his first major speech on 3 October 2010 – on the 20th anniversary of German unification: an ideal opportunity for someone who sees himself as a bridge-builder.
