Helmut Kohl

“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'.”

“I don't want to give myself grades. I will leave evaluation of my achievements to history.”

“Where is Germany now and where does it want to go? It's a question being asked by our partners and allies abroad. We have to return - urgently - to our old dependability. We have to make clear for others what we stand for, where we're headed, and that we know where we belong.”

“I have been underestimated for decades. I have done very well that way.”

“I ask myself where Germany stands today and where it wants to go.”