Respect, admiration and many emotions – senior politicians and family members said goodbye to the late CDU politician Wolfgang Schäuble in a moving funeral ceremony. “What an achievement of a lifetime. What a political life,” CDU President Friedrich Merz said today in front of several hundred guests at the Protestant church in Schäuble’s hometown, Offenburg.
Schäuble died on Boxing Day aged 81, after a long and serious illness. The Baden native held important political positions: he was a minister, leader of the CDU, leader of a parliamentary group and president of the German Bundestag. No one has been a member of Parliament longer than him.
APA/AFP/Philipp Von Ditfurth
Baden-Württemberg Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) paid tribute to the deceased as a shaper of Europe, a passionate democrat and a great son of the country. “With Wolfgang Schäuble, our country is losing a great political personality,” said Kretschmann. “He thought things through and thought it through from the end.”
“Dad, you were a total work of art.”
Schäuble's daughter, Christine Strobl, gave a personal insight into the well-known politician's life. His father had many health problems that were never disclosed. He mastered everything with incredible effort. “Dad, you were a total work of art,” said the ARD program director.
Political Berlin will say goodbye to Schäuble on January 22nd. On this day, the Bundestag will host the state mourning ceremony ordered by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the plenary hall of the Reichstag building. The leaders of the German state – especially Steinmeier – and hundreds of national and foreign guests are expected.