christian wulff should show sensitivity and do without the military honors. >> but christian wulff cannt on the backing of chancellor merkel. she and many other conservatives are all expected to attend on thursday. there is cross-party accepted the christian wulff is still entitled to the annual pension and other perks that former german presidents receive after they leave office. but there is growing consensus that that clause should be reviewed. >> in the early years, it was probably inconceivable that the german president to leave office while still relatively young. there is no attempt to cater for this possibility. but now one should reconsider what to do if a similar case occurs in the future. >> even after his resignation from the presidency, controversy continues to surround christian wulff. >> we will have more on international women's day coming up after a short break. >> stay with us. ♪ ♪ >> dw in april. cologne cathedral, an architectural masterpiece, a monument to the christian faith, and the most popular tourist attraction in germany. cologne cathedral. famous views, favo

christian wulff, seen here with his wife, stepped down in february in response to the threat of legalbe into corruption allegations. he came under fire for not disclosing favors from wealthy friends when he was state premier of lower saxony. time to take a short break. >> in a minute, we will be hearing from a german soldier injured in afghanistan. what does he think about the efforts to bring peace and security to the afghan people? >> stay with us for that. ♪ >> dw on the internet with a new address and a completely revamped online presence. journalistic quality in 30 languages. in seinfield, diverse, and in multimedia format. -- insightful, diverse, and multimedia format. visit us at dw.de. >> i like berries. >> i would like a banana parfait. >> pistachio. >> vanilla. >> the next time you eat out, helping the 850 million people in the world to go hungry. donate the cost of a dessert to the world food program. >> welcome back. in it -- an afghan policeman poisoned and then shot dead nine of his colleagues early on friday. was this a man gone berserk or does this expose a country str

[applause] >> jaochim gauck expressed appreciation for his predecessor christian wulff.istian wulff made integration the focus of his presidency, and jaochim gauck said he would continue that theme. he said germany would stand up to right wing extremists trying to disrupt that process. >> we support our country, not because it is perfect, but because we have never had a country as good as this. we unequivocally say to the right-wing extremist critics of democracy, your hate will motivate us. we will not leave our country in the lurch. [applause] >> jaochim gauck received cross- party support for his election and a long round of applause following his speech. then, the new president would to his official residence in bellevue palace in berlin for a reception. germany has a new president. perhaps expectations of a german head of state have never been so high as they are of jaochim gauck. >> those expectations are very high, indeed. let's bring in our political correspondent peter for more. what was your impression of the speech today? >> of course, we saw the former east g

his predecessor christian wulff was among those there to greet him.chim gauck's supporters say they're looking forward to a new chapter in german history. >> this is the new germany. jaochim gauck symbolizes everyone here who wants to get things done. >> this represents a victory for political reason and wisdom. >> the new president does germany an enormous service. he began with an exciting speech on freedom. >> jaochim gauck also put freedom and responsibility at the center of his first speech after his election on sunday, but he also warned against euphoria. >> to be sure, i will not be able to fulfill all the expectations of people have of me or my presidency. but i can promise one thing, that i will say yes with all my strength and all my heart to the responsibility you have interested me with today. >> his first trip as president will take jaochim gauck to eastern germany were the peaceful protests against the east german communist regime began in 1989. he will be formally sworn into office on friday. >> stay with us. we will be back with more i