Candidates in Germany's presidential election honed messages of moderation on Saturday, with the front-runner, Christian Wulff, saying that if elected, he would model himself on former South African president Nelson Mandela, dpa reported. Wulff, 50, who has been nominated by Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition and currently is premier of Lower Saxony states, criticized what he called a degradation in political style and added he was impressed by Mandela's ability to integrate South Africans. "Mandela's principle was political leadership where the shepherd manages the flock from behind, watching that no sheep goes astray, but still sets the direction to go," said Wulff in a news interview. His opponent, Joachim Gauck, nominated by main opposition parties, has campaigned to make politicians listen to the needs of voters. Both candidates have avoided looking too ambitious or making frontal attacks on one another. Each has stressed he would be a figure of unity. The German presidency has few substantial powers, but is seen as a pulpit to call the political class to order. Gauck praised two ministers in the Merkel government, Wolfgang Schaeuble (finance) and Ursula von der Leyen (labour), saying in a news interview he would have hesitated to run for office against them if they had been nominated for the presidency. Gauck, 70, former head of the German archives that preserves communist secret police files, told a meeting organized in Rostock by the Social Democratic and Greens parties that he was sure his chances of winning were "rather limited." -- SPA
