The leader of Germany's opposition Christian Democrats (CDU), Dr Wolfgang Schauble, yesterday apologised to parliament for the damage to public confidence in democracy caused by his party's acceptance of illegal donations.
Addressing the Bundestag before the opening of a parliamentary inquiry into the influence such cash donations may have had on government policy, Dr Schauble acknowledged that his party had broken the law.
"I would like to apologise for the fact that quite clearly, under our responsibility, laws have been infringed and faith in the integrity of democratic institutions damaged," he said.
The parliamentary session was interrupted following news that a CDU official in charge of the parliamentary party's finances had committed suicide. Mr Wolfgang Hullen (49) left a suicide note saying his motives were personal.
The news of Mr Hullen's death shocked parliamentarians, some of whom left the Bundestag chamber in tears. But it is unlikely to influence the parliamentary inquiry, which yesterday published a list of 26 witnesses it wished to question.
At the head of the list is the former chancellor, Dr Helmut Kohl, who resigned as honorary chairman of the CDU this week rather than reveal the names of anonymous donors from whom he received up to £1 million in cash between 1993 and 1996. Dr Kohl spoke angrily to reporters outside his home in Berlin yesterday morning, accusing them of mounting a "round-the-clock witch-hunt" against him.
The former chancellor received a standing ovation from businessmen in Hamburg on Tuesday evening when he vowed to fight to protect his honour.
"I've never pretended to be a saint. Of course I have made mistakes; I've admitted them and paid for them. But I could never be bribed. Everyone who knows me knows that," he said.
Dr Kohl insists that he cannot name the donors because he gave them his word that they would remain anonymous, but most observers suspect that the former chancellor could well have darker motives.
The CDU's former general secretary, Mr Heiner Geissler, warned yesterday that the longer Dr Kohl remains silent the more he will feed such suspicions.
"If Kohl does not name the names, the suspicion is strengthened among the public that he is hiding criminal machinations," he said.
Prosecutors investigating Dr Kohl for a possible charge of embezzlement are examining possible links between the CDU's illegal funds and bank accounts in the tax haven of Liechtenstein.
Dr Kohl was almost totally isolated within his own party yesterday, but it was left to Mr Peter Struck, parliamentary leader of the governing Social Democrats, to deliver the most damning verdict on the former chancellor.
"The head of government of one of the world's largest democratic countries trampled over laws and disregarded the constitution for decades. And he still values his own word of honour above the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany," he said.