“I neither requested nor encouraged this function”

The man who was the face of VW comes with a striped tie and his head held high. A number of eyes have been staring at the wood-paneled door in Braunschweig's town hall for a good twenty minutes, and a minute before the trial begins he is there: Martin Winterkorn. “First of all, good morning,” he says. Journalists ask how he is doing. Winterkorn falters, but you can tell he wants to make a strong impression here and stay in control. “As it is,” he says. Then he runs into the hall, and of course everyone looks at his walk. Winterkorn walks slowly through the crowd, progressing at a leisurely pace. Several hip operations have left their mark.