Editorial
Kohl's Fall from Grace: A Lesson
That the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is considering a civil suit against its veteran leader and former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl to make him reveal "the source of secret slush funds" ought to make us sit up and take note. It is not only about the fall from grace of one of Europe's revered statesmen and an architect of German unification; essentially, the disquieting episode in the country's political history has served to light a system of governance where accountability is above any partisan interest or individual allegiance. The German leader, forced down from his honorary party chairmanship with the outbreak of the scandal, now faces the ignominy of being prosecuted and eventually, if found guilty of breach of trust, a sentence for five years in prison stares him in the face as well. Notably, it is some of Kohl's own protégés who have considered legal action against their mentor in the greater interest of the party. When it came to upholding the law of the land, little did they hesitate to go against the man who had led them for so many years. While we take our hats off to them, we cannot help regret the pronounced absence of such virtues in our own political parties and politicians.
Have we ever heard of any audit done on, let alone an inquiry into, electoral expenditure from within the party? Has anyone 'dared' stand against party leadership to question the origin and use of party funds? These questions invite only answers in the negative, thereby highlighting the pervasive absence of respect for law of the land. We have all known how generous our political leaders are when it comes to electoral expenditure, often overshooting the Election Commission ceiling by umpteen times. Still, there has not been any conclusive inquisition into it neither from the commission nor the parties concerned. The electoral laws are inadequate and indeed need to be effective and efficient in this respect. But what is even more painful is the express reluctance in our politicians to go by the spirit of the law.
We could only expect them to learn from the Kohl episode and hope that someday our politicians would also earn acclaim for similar moral uprightness, if not greater, as displayed by the CDU politicians.
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