Two Top Politicians Resign in Wake of Election Scandals

Two prominent politicians became the first political casualties of Germany's extraordinarily tight parliamentary race on Monday.

In a letter submitted to Chancellor Gerhard Schröder on Monday, German Justice Minister Herta Däubler-Gmelin, who has been at the center of Washington criticism since allegedly comparing the methods of U.S. President George W. Bush to those of Hitler last week, said she would leave the position at the end of the government term.

"I received a letter today from Herta Däubler-Gmelin in which she informed that she would not be available to take up a post in the new cabinet," Schröder confirmed.

The absence of Däubler-Gmelin in Schröder's new cabinet is likely to be seen by many as the first step in repairing relations with the United States, which have been badly damaged by the alleged remarks and Schröder's stance against US-led action in Iraq. Däubler-Gmelin has denied the comparison and said that she was taken out of context by the "Schwabische Tagblatt" newspaper, but over the weekend the pressure grew too strong for her to remain in office.

Ties have been strained in the last few weeks over Schröder's strident opposition to military action against Iraq, and the brouhaha over Däubler-Gmelin only served to further alienate Schröder’s government from the Bush administration. The chancellor sent a letter to President Bush on Friday apologizing for Däubler-Gmelin’s remarks, but Bush officials said Monday the letter "didn't read like an apology."

It read "more like an attempt at an explanation," said White House press secretary Ari Fleischer.

In an interview over the weekend, Bush’s national security advisor, Condoleezza Rice, criticized Däubler-Gmelin and accused her of poisoning the relationship between the long-allied nations.

Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he would refuse to meet with German Defense Minister Peter Struck at a NATO summit in Warsaw this Wednesday.

"I would have to say that the way it (the election) was conducted was definitely unhelpful and, as the White House indicated, has had the effect of poisoning the relationship,” he told reporters on Monday.

Statements with links to Germany's uncomfortable history also led to the fall of another prominent politician on Monday. The executive committee of the liberal Free Democratic Party forced the resignation of vice party chairman Jürgen Möllemann (photo) in the wake of the party’s poor showing in the election.

The party had been badly damaged by anti-Israeli comments and a vicious personal attack on the deputy leader of Germany’s most-influential Jewish organization made by Möllemann. Möllemann, who is also the party’s state leader in North Rhine-Westphalia, accused Michel Friedman, vice president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, of fueling anti-Semitism with his "intolerant, hateful style" last May.

His spiteful words angered many Germans, drew undesirable international criticism and led the party to fall in popularity polls. Möllemann stunned Germans again last week when he sent a campaign mailing to voters in North Rhine-Westphalia critical of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Friedman. Senior party leaders distanced themselves from Möllemann and on Sunday demanded his resignation, which he tendered a day later.