Two decisions have damaged the stability both of the euro and of Europe: the premature admission of Greece to the euro area and the breach and subsequent weakening of the stability and growth pact. Helmut Kohl Read Quote
Europe has, to put it mildly, been in a poor state since the transition to the 21st century. This is down to national issues, European missteps, and an economic and financial crisis that crashed down on us with enough force to dislodge the essential European idea. Helmut Kohl Read Quote
Gorbachev’s legacy is that he called time on communism, partially against his will, but in fact, he finished it off. Without violence. Without bloodshed. Beyond that, I am struggling to think of much else in terms of real legacy. Helmut Kohl Read Quote
I experienced Nazism as a child. Like many of my generation, I was motivated by the desire to prevent another war at any price. Helmut Kohl Read Quote
If a Chancellor is trying to push something through, he must be a man of power. And if he’s smart, he knows when the time is ripe. In one case – the euro – I was like a dictator… The euro is a synonym for Europe. Helmut Kohl Read Quote
For me it is completely clear that our air bases in Germany would be available to the Americans. Helmut Kohl Read Quote
People in Tel Aviv can not imagine, but in 1990, here in Leipzig or Dresden, whoever wanted to buy a car had to wait 14 years. The East Germans worked like people in the West, but the fruits of their labor were harvested by a criminal regime. Helmut Kohl Read Quote
Political life is like this – elections go back and forth. Representative democracy can only be successful if one sits down and says, ‘That’s it. I will connect myself,’ – as I did – ‘connect my existence to a political project.’ Then you automatically have in your party a lot of people who say, ‘If that fails, so do I’. Helmut Kohl Read Quote
