ABSTRACT
This chapter presents German Christian Democrats and the Kohl Scandal. It suggests that the origin and development of the scandal involving the Christian Democratic Union can be explained in terms of a confusion of private morality and political ethics. The scandal over the illegal financing of German Christian Democrats reveals two crucial factors of more general significance, namely institutional weaknesses and weaknesses in ethical judgement. The institutional weaknesses lie in the counter-incentives to compliance with the stipulations of the constitution and law. The weaknesses in ethical judgement exist in the confusion of personal morals and political ethics. There are many reasons for assuming that the facts reported are only a small share of all illegal actions and violations of the standards of political ethics. The case of Kohl suggests that standards of political ethics in Germany are too weak to serve as a counterweight to the power of the parties. The standards of political ethics are more important.
