The Long Reach of Protestant Parsonage

The German presidency is a largely ceremonial office, though its incumbent is supposed to represent the political virtues of the Federal Republic. Thus the scandal forcing the recent resignation from the presidency of Christian Wulff on February 17, 2012, while closely followed (and perhaps caused) by the German media, was not much noticed abroad. Nor are the details of this political drama very interesting. (It is unclear at this point whether Wulff did anything illegal by an unbecoming lifestyle of luxury and close associations with wealthy friends, but he was widely perceived as not living up to the high moral expectations of his office.) What is more interesting beyond the domestic politics is the background of his chosen successor—Joachim Gauck, a former Lutheran pastor from East Germany. In 2010, when the office of president fell open, Gauck had been widely supported to occupy it. But he was opposed by Angela Merkel, the chancellor, who pushed through the candidacy of Wulff, a not very distinguished politician of the CDU (Merkel’s party). When Gauck’s candidacy resurfaced two years later and was supported by all the mainstream parties, including a strong group in the CDU, Merkel had to swallow the (presumably unpalatable) pill of joining the supporters. It is unlikely that this small defeat tarnished Merkel’s reputation as the most powerful woman in Europe, not much loved but feared throughout the continent (and loathed in Greece for her compulsory diet of fiscal sauerkraut).

However, there are two aspects of this development that are of interest to outside observers of Germany who do not follow the ups and downs of its domestic politics. With Gauck as president and Merkel continuing as chancellor, the two most prominent political figures in Germany will be individuals who grew up in East Germany under Communism. This may do something to assuage the inferiority feelings of Easterners (the so-called “Ossis”). But there is another aspect that interests me here: Both individuals are products of an institution with great cultural significance in German history—the Protestant parsonage.