Clare Boothe Luce famously declared that even the most consequential leaders merit a single sentence in memory.
Amid a political career of notable longevity, Helmut Kohl will surely be recalled for his singular insight, foresight, cunning and courage in leading the unification of Germany.
Unification No Sure Thing
That Germany would be unified—please, don’t use the evocative, provocative term “reunification”—was by no means a sure thing. “The German Problem” that triggered two world wars was far from forgotten. The Russian bear was skeptical and ornery and remained dangerous amid the breakup of the Soviet Empire.
Kohl was often dismissed as a wire-puller extraordinaire, a hollow man without vision, a master of the dark arts of parliamentary party politics. For all that, when the postwar moment of truth presented itself, he comprehended the opportunity and acted on it.
He worked skillfully with President George H.W. Bush, simultaneously salving Russian reluctance to reconstitute its historic enemy, while pulling away from American dominance. Indeed, their joint skill in making such a significant change without arousing the opposition of Russian leaders may have made the task appear inevitable. In fact, it was anything but.
Kohl’s conservative instincts gave way for an extraordinary public investment in the eastern part of his nation. Maimed by the successive Nazi and Communist regimes, the “Ossi” population lacked experience in self-government and the rigors of capitalist competition. Kohl was entirely willing to accept the consequences of spending too much to bring them in.
Kohl Leadership Legacy
Unified Europe, led by a peaceful Germany, is the Kohl leadership legacy. One can fairly ponder whether events would have unfolded as they did, other than for his historic role.
Whether that legacy will endure is a fundamental question confronting his successors, in Germany and beyond. The leadership of subsequent chancellors—including Kohl’s erstwhile protege and colleague Angela Merkel, a native of the former East Germany—might usefully be evaluated with Kohl’s towering example in mind.
Kohl Leadership Legacy