Germany in crisis after surprise resignation of President Horst Köhler

[chloe]

June 1, 2010

Germany has been plunged into a political crisis by the surprise resignation of President Köhler.

The move — the first time that a modern German head of state has stepped down before the end of his term — will further sap the leadership of Chancellor Merkel and ignite a debate about the country’s involvement in the Afghan war.

With tears in his eyes, the President read a short televised statement announcing that he was going immediately because he had been so misunderstood over military operations abroad. On a trip last week to meet German troops in Afghanistan he had declared that a country such as Germany, dependent on exports and free trade, must be prepared to use military force.

The country, he said, had to act “to protect our interests, for example, free-trade routes, or to prevent regional instability which might certainly have a negative effect on our trade, jobs and earnings”.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article7141151.ece

[chloe]

PjZWp8XEJm8

[SassyLady]

And now the Prime Minister of Japan resigned.


By Bruce Wallace, Los Angeles Times

June 2, 2010


Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama ended weeks of internal discontent with his leadership by announcing Wednesday that he would resign, a swift fall from grace for a politician who just eight months ago led his endemic opposition party to a historic victory.

His collapse in approval ratings was prompted largely by his failure to deliver on a campaign promise to move a major U.S. military base off Okinawa's main island. The move was a centerpiece of Hatoyama's campaign for office last year, but its implementation would have required American consent to alter a painstakingly negotiated 2006 deal with the previous Japanese government before the base could be moved to another part of Okinawa.

The U.S. military has been ensconced in the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma on Okinawa since the end of World War II. Home to most of the 47,000 military and civilian personnel in Japan, the base remains crucial to Marine operations in the Pacific. But the accompanying noise and disruption have created a deep current of opposition from many Okinawans.

In elections last year, Hatoyama's pledge to move the base off the island was part of a broader agenda to give Japan more say over security matters in its alliance with the U.S. It struck a chord not only with Okinawans, who contend the base's intrusion on their lives is ignored by politicians in Washington and Tokyo, but also with those Japanese leery at how the U.S. alliance has dragged Japan into conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-japan-resign-20100602,0,3831078.story


Could the next headline be: Obama and his entire administration resigns, including Pelosi and Reid!!!!

Wait --- I forgot, I'm not on Fantasy Island.

[Mr. P]

And now the Prime Minister of Japan resigned.



Could the next headline be: Obama and his entire administration resigns, including Pelosi and Reid!!!!

Wait --- I forgot, I'm not on Fantasy Island.

So many things come in threes....PRAY THE NEXT ONE IS OBAMA!

[SassyLady]

So many things come in threes....PRAY THE NEXT ONE IS OBAMA!

He's too much of a narcississt to give up the spotlight!