German president quits: Your comments
German President Christian Wulff has announced his resignation.
An ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, Mr Wulff is embroiled in a scandal over a home loan that he accepted when he was premier of Lower Saxony.
BBC News website readers in Germany have been sharing their thoughts.
Christian Wulff has made several mistakes, especially on the communication side. From a legal point of view he has not been accused of any erratic behaviour until today, but the criticism saying he would be missing his credibility due to all the rumours was the tenor of the whole discussion over the weeks. The fact that there will now be a preliminary investigation by public prosecution which is a routine procedure - not for the head of state, though - still does not prove anything. The part of German society who did not want to accept a self-righteous prejudgement but who wanted to wait for the official investigations bringing forward any evidence have learnt how a media campaign works and that even the head of state doesn't stand a chance against that. Without wanting to apologise for a possible misbehaviour of Christian Wulff, this crisis predominantly demonstrates the power of German media. A good day for Germany? I don't think so. Daniel K, Berlin
Mr Wulff's statement to step down was long overdue. Miraculously, Mrs Merkel doesn't seem to be affected by the fact that already the second president her coalition brought to power retired from office early. Especially in times of crisis, we could use a stable head of the state who is respected by anyone. Arne Seifert, Munich
Herr Wulff should have stepped down sooner instead of trying to ride out the storm. Now we can get back to the euro crisis. Ian Harman, Karlsruhe
Finally Mr Wulff took responsibility - and his hat. With his support amongst German citizens dwindling he was no longer fit to be in office any minute longer. With his immunity expected to be lifted within the next week we shall see what the prosecutors will drag into the light - and we can only hope they will be as fair, as just and as relentless with a former president as they are with the rest of us. Sash Michaels, Karlsruhe
Wulff's resignation is considered overdue by the German population. To me, a president who has failed morally and politically is no example for the citizens of the country. The German presidency should radiate a role model to the Germans. The fact that he has been reluctant to resign over two months has damaged the German presidency. Jonas Pallentin, Hanover
The media blew this quite out of proportion. There seems to be a pattern emerging of media portraying political figures in a bad light. Apparently they are all corrupt and open to bribery. In this case, yes there has been wrongdoing, but I think a lot of it was naivety on Wulff's part by trusting his advisor. In my opinion, this is just another case of the country's media ruining the country's political image/reputation in the world. Abi Kas, Kassel
The resignation of Christian Wulff clearly shows the desperate state of the CDU/CSU-FDP coalition. They were not able to elect a president in 2010, despite having a clear majority, who can exercise the office with dignity and integrity. It seems the only reason that he was selected as president was for Merkel to get rid of a rival. Merkel now has to prove that she does not act on what's best for herself and her party but that she is able to bring forward a candidate who can represent Germany in the world and work towards the best interest of the German people. Philip Le Butt, Hanover