The interview will be pre-recorded by public broadcaster ARD on Tuesday, it was announced on Friday, amid a flurry of media interest in Schmidt’s new relationship. The show will be broadcast at a later date.
Schmidt admitted that the woman at his side was his new partner, two years after the death of his wife Loki, to whom he had been married since 1942.
He told Die Zeit weekly newspaper, of which he is co-publisher, that his former colleague Ruth Loah, 79, was his new girlfriend. The two have known each other since 1955.
Schmidt-watchers have been quick to point out the striking resemblance between Ruth and Schmidt’s deceased wife. Both have the same close-cropped hair style and strong features.
Schmidt was the chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982 and is respected as a political and moral authority by many Germans.
The magazine Stern cited a recent Forsa opinion poll that showed Germans consider the 93-year-old politician the country’s “greatest living role model.” He is the country’s oldest living former chancellor.
The Local/DPA/sh
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