CHANCELLOR Dr Helmut Kohl has joined those criticising Lady Thatcher's memoirs, warning that the former prime minister was in danger of ''dismantling the monument she has built''.
Dr Kohl, who clashed frequently with Lady Thatcher over their different visions for Europe, said that his own view had been inspired by Winston Churchill's call for European unity after World War II.
''The difference between us is that I am living after Winston Churchill and she comes from the time before Winston Churchill,'' he said.
Dr Kohl said she had undermined her own achievements by recounting her opposition to German and European unity.
''German unity has come and European unity will come too, no matter what Margaret Thatcher writes,'' he said. ''All she accomplishes is the dismantling of the monument she has built.'' Extracts from the book have already been published in Germany, highlighting her attempt to block unification in 1990.
Mr Kohl said: ''Margaret Thatcher never hid the fact that she was not for German unification at the time. I didn't take this badly because she was the most honest.