Scandal setback
August 15, 2011
Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrat (CDU) party suffered a setback Sunday when a politician tapped to be the forerunner of a regional election was forced to resign over his affair with a teenage girl.
Christian von Boetticher announced Sunday he was stepping down as CDU chairman in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, after his relationship with a 16-year-old came to light.
The 40-year-old Boetticher had been designated to run for state premier of Germany's northernmost state in May in place of retiring current Premier Peter Harry Carstensen.
Boetticher's relationship with the minor was not illegal under German law, but had ruffled feathers within the conservative party.
After a crisis party executive meeting in the state capital of Kiel, CDU officials said he would remain CDU parliamentary floor leader in the state assembly.
"Christian von Boetticher said he had misjudged the moral component [of the relationship]," said deputy CDU leader Angelika Volquartz after the crisis meeting.
Boetticher confirmed he met the girl in spring 2010, saying "it was love, plain and simple." German daily tabloid Bild reported that the two had met on social media website Facebook.
Author: David Levitz (AFP, Reuters)
Editor: Martin Kuebler