It took Günther Oettinger, governor of the south-western German state Baden-Württemberg, almost a week, but on Monday, he finally withdrew his comments delivered at the funeral for former Baden-Württemberg governor and ex-Nazi Hans Filbinger.

"I no longer adhere to my formulation," Oettinger said at a meeting of the Christian Democrat party leadership on Monday. "Rather, I am distancing myself from it."

In his eulogy last Wednesday, Oettinger had said that Filbinger -- a judge with the German navy during World War II -- had not actually been a Nazi and had even been against the National Socialist ideology. He also said that no one had died as a result of verdicts handed down by Filbinger.

The storm of protest  was immediate and intense. Historians trotted out proof that Filbinger had not only supported the system, but had also sentenced a deserter to death just days before the end of the war. He also sentenced two others to death in absentia -- sentences which were never carried out. Politicians of many stripes called for his resignation. Even German Chancellor Angela Merkel -- like Oettinger a member of the Christian Democrat party -- saw fit to censure him.

On Monday afternoon, though, Oettinger finally backed down and sought to put the controversy behind him. German commentators, though, are still not finished analyzing the scandal.

The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung on Tuesday writes that Oettinger was completely incapable of anticipating the effects his eulogy might have:

"That he has now 'distanced' himself from his speech -- he is distancing himself from his own words, what an absurd spectacle -- is not due to comprehension, but rather because of the pressure being put on him from all sides."

"Oettinger is a typical representative of that species of down-to-earth conservatives who can hardly pronounce the phrase 'political correctness' but who are able to sniff out its supporters wherever they may be. Among that species, there are a number of morons who see the debate about collective historical responsibility (for Nazi crimes) first and foremost as politically motivated and believe that the left is overly critical of the country and of the previous generations' achievements."

Conservative daily Die Welt points out that Oettinger did not do a good job of handling the scandal: "Oettinger's first mistake was that he could not find a way to praise the deceased while at the same time mentioning that he had been on the perpetrator side during the Nazi era. Needlessly, he transformed Filbinger into an opponent of the National Socialist regime -- and with that ignored something much more fundamental: There were a huge number of Germans who did not approve of the Nazi system, but who came to terms with it, participated in it and in the end, however minor a role they may have played, were on the side of the perpetrators. To deny that is little more than falsification."

"Politicians from the Christian Democratic Party still apparently have difficulty thoughtfully discussing Germany's learning process. They often lapse into a hollow tone of voice and one notices that they are clumsily maneuvering on uncertain terrain…. The conservatives have to finally learn to walk on the stage of remembrance without embarrassing themselves. It is understandable that they find it more difficult than the left-of-center parties. But this is precisely why this learning process is so important: Only when it succeeds will this republic be in safe harbors."

Center-right daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung pulls no punches in its front page commentary on Tuesday:

"There are many reasons to scratch one's head over the entire incident. First and foremost, it is amazing how a leading politician charges through German history like an elephant in a china shop. The reference to inadequate advisors is clearly an absurd excuse: If Oettinger really didn't know what he was saying then he is obviously not qualified for a senior political position."

Left-leaning Berlin daily Die Tageszeitung continues to demand that Oettinger resign and argues in its front-page editorial that other politicians should have the courage to insist that he do so:

"How often should he be allowed to reinterpret a speech that he himself gave?" the paper asks rhetorically. "The Baden-Württemberg governor Günther Oettinger seems to be of the opinion that one can take a new run at it every day. Yesterday, he finally distanced himself from his comment that his predecessor Hans Filbinger was an opponent of the Nazi regime. Is that now the final version? Or will he on Tuesday try to revise his revision a bit more? Wait and see…. He who maintains his point of view for a long time before finally apologizing in order to save his job cannot expect that he will be forgiven."

The Financial Times Deutschland writes Oettinger's political obituary on Tuesday:

"It wasn’t a resignation, but it was a farewell. The Baden-Württemberg governor Günther Oettinger will keep his job, but he won't be playing a role on the federal level any time soon. Oettinger, who had pretensions of having influence beyond his state's borders, has in the last few days managed to demote himself to the level of provincial politician. In the inner-party ranking game of the CDU, he will not likely be a factor for the foreseeable future."

Oettinger "is surely not someone who seeks to relativize the Nazi regime. But in the future, his name will be bound together with Filbinger's -- through the attempt to clear the former navy judge's name. That is an incredibly harmful connection for one who sees himself as a modernizer who sought to provide a breath of fresh air into an encrusted state party…. Oettinger will no longer appear in the list of CDU party hopefuls."