50 years ago, Willy Brandt resigned

[buritobr]

In 1969, he became the leader of a major western liberal democracy. In 1972, he continued in the power after a big victory. He made a lot of agreements with non-western countries. He had to resign in 1974 due to a espionage scandal.

I could be talking about Richard Nixon, but I am talking about Willy Brandt. The difference is that Brandt was the victim of the espionage.

We can see more about the DDR spy here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4-o-S6IpzM

[President Johnson]

While Brandt was a good politician and chancellor, I always felt that he's kind of overrated. In my view Helmut Schmidt was a more effective leader with a more pragmatic style of governing. It's unfortunate he was never party leader during his chancellorship, but it served a purpose to keep Brandt in that position until 1987 (even outlasting Schmidt's chancellorship) as he was more left-leaning than his successor. However, Brandt's stances later on hurt Schmidt with the party's left wing, which - unlike Schmidt - opposed the NATO Double Track decision. Ultimately that contributed to the break-up of the Social-Liberal coalition that ended 13 years of SPD reign. Subsequently, Helmut Kohl became chancellor and stayed in office for 16 years.

A fun fact with regard to Brandt's resignation is that this was thee only time a chancellor requested to be immediately relieved of his duties and not continue in an acting capacity. Therefore, Vice Chancellor Walter Scheel of the FDP formally served as acting chancellor between May 7 and May 16, 1974, when Schmidt was elected (Scheel became federal president later that year).

[buritobr]

I believe usually the leaders who start a policy receive more credit than the leaders who continue it.
Konrad Adenauer is more remembered than Ludwig Erhard and Kurt Kiesinger.

[Steve from Lambeth]

I find it striking just how many world leaders lost office in 1974, specifically. Brandt; Nixon (who had Watergate); Heath (who had the two general elections); Pompidou (who died); Ecevit (who got VONCed); literally everyone else who had anything to do with Cyprus around that time.

[buritobr]

1974 was the last year in which all the 4 major western liberal democracies (USA, UK, France, FR Germany) changed their leaders