Kohlgate

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The scandal has been a nightmare for the C.D.U., which was struggling to adjust itself to the role of opposition party after nearly two decades in power. Wolfgang Schauble, Kohl's handpicked successor, offered to resign after admitting he had received a $52,000 cash contribution from arms dealer Karlheinz Schreiber that went mysteriously unreported, but the party's leadership threatened a mass resignation if he quit. While anywhere else Schauble's lapse might have been justification for resignation, it wasn't enough to justify dumping him--yet.

On the other hand, the scandal has been a godsend to current Chancellor Gerhard Schroder, who defeated Kohl in Bundestag elections in September 1998. Before the scandal erupted last November, Schroder's ruling Social Democratic Party (S.P.D.) had been trounced by the C.D.U. in state and local elections because of popular discontent with Schroder's plan to cut $16 billion from the budget. The next election face-off is in February in the key state of Schleswig-Holstein. Early indications show the S.P.D. heading for victory.

It was not clear at week's end whether Kohl would agree to appear before the Bundestag's investigators. At least one key detail had already emerged from the committee's first day of work, though: Schroder's office confirmed that at the request of the committee, it had searched the official archives for material and had found that a number of key documents "seem to be missing." In addition to the parliamentary inquiry into the funding scandal, Kohl also faces a criminal investigation by prosecutors in Bonn for criminal breach of trust, a crime that carries a maximum sentence of five years. According to legal experts, the case could be difficult to prove unless the C.D.U. is willing to testify to having been victimized by Kohl, who led the party for 25 years.

More damaging revelations are still to come for the C.D.U. Party officials disclosed that an audit of party books revealed nearly $5 million in additional donations whose source could not be determined. Perhaps worse, the party branch in the state of Hesse admitted it had "parked" about $4 million in secret Swiss bank accounts in the 1980s. By the 1990s, the sum had mysteriously grown to $15 million.

It will be interesting to see how long Kohl's claim to omerta will be regarded by some Germans as an honorable path. The scandal is a reminder that as Chancellor, Kohl was willing to do anything to keep Germany's socialists out of office. During the height of his power, in the midst of the cold war, that goal may have justified all kinds of behavior in his mind--even illegal behavior. But from today's perspective, with East Germany reintegrated into the mother country--by his own hand, no less--Kohl's actions no longer carry the same moral weight. They look very much like the final flailings of corrupt politicians everywhere, from Chicago to Belgrade. But while Kohl has fallen very far, very fast, his tumble may be a long way from finished.

--With reporting by Regine Wosnitza/Berlin and Bruce Crumley/Paris

With reporting by Regine Wosnitza/Berlin and Bruce Crumley/Paris

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