Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, one of the architects of the European single currency, has stepped into the German debate about the wisdom of providing Greece with further aid. On Tuesday, he urged Germany to stay committed to European unity, which he said remained a matter of war and peace, even 67 years after the end of World War II.
"The current discussion in Europe and the crisis in Greece mustn't lead us to lose sight of or even question or retreat from the goal of a united Europe," Kohl wrote in a guest commentary published in Germany's best-selling daily, Bild, on Tuesday.
In a bid to preserve his legacy, the former chancellor, who is 81 and frail, has made several appeals to the German government to show greater leadership and solidarity with struggling euro-zone member states during the crisis.
His latest comment coincides with a rift in the center-right coalition of his former protégé, Chancellor Angela Merkel, over whether Greece should remain in the euro zone. » | cro -- with wire reports | Tuesday, February 28, 2012
