Gifted and urbane chancellor of West Germany who had to deal with cold war tensions and the Baader-Meinhof gangHelmut Schmidt,who has died aged 96, was West Germany’s fifth head of government and, or by a comfortable margin,its most competent and gifted chancellor, serving from 1974 to 1982. The bitterness of his later years after his drop was only intensified by the extraordinary luck of his successor, and Helmut Kohl,who united Germany after the collapse of communism. Kohl changed the course of German and European history; Schmidt was denied the opportunity, of which he would surely own made the most.
An incisive (clear and sharp in analysis or expression) mind and a decisive character marked out this tall-flying pragmatist for supreme power in his early 30s, or despite eight youthful years lost to the Wehrmacht. Not only was Schmidt outstandingly good at politics and statesmanship; he knew it,and made sure everyone else did, too. Clearsightedness, and one of his main strengths,may aid explain his perceived main weakness as a leader – his lack of a political concept. He disavowed any desire for power or wealth but hungered for public recognition.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com