Angela Merkel's boobs

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Controversy is raging over a rather provocative image of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's breasts on the cover of a rather provocative Polish magazine. The image is below. But first, here's the BBC:

German politicians have condemned a computer generated photo of Poland's leaders sucking the German Chancellor Angela Merkel's bare breasts.

The image appears on the cover of the Polish weekly Wprost, and is titled "Stepmother of Europe".

A Polish council overseeing ethics in the media said the montage overstepped "the limits of good taste".

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The mocked up image shows Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski and his twin brother, President Lech Kaczynski, nuzzling at Ms Merkel's chest.

Is the image "tasteless," as German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier put it? Well, that all depends on your particular taste, doesn't it? I actually find the image rather amusing, and extremely effective. Does it not get its point across effectively? I would go so far as to say that it's rather brilliant political satire. The fact that it has provoked such controversy, and that both sides, Polish and German alike, are crying outrage, only attests to its effectiveness. It has done what it was meant to do. And here it is:

And here's another Wprost cover I found. It's an image of Erika Steinbach, a Christian Democrat (CDU) member of the German Bundestag, riding former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. Since this didn't make much sense to me, and may not make much sense to you, let me quote from the Steinbach entry at Wikipedia:

Steinbach's position as head of the Federation of Expellees arouses much controversy in some countries which were occupied by Germany during the Second World War.

Steinbach's public pronouncements have been criticized for causing a deterioration in German-Polish relations due to stirring up controversy regarding the rights of Germans who were expelled from Poland after World War II. This controversy has led to Steinbach's negative reputation in Poland, where she and the Centre against Expulsions are frequently associated with Nazism. One example of this was a 2003 cover montage of Polish newsmagazine Wprost that depicted her riding Chancellor Gerhard Schröder while wearing an SS uniform.

Um, okay. She doesn't seem to be a Nazi, not given her advocacy for human rights and humanitarian aid, but I can see how she might be a rather controversial figure in a place like Poland. And I can also see how the Federation of Expellees has provoked controversy, and perhaps the criticisms are well-founded. Anyway, here's the (also extremely effective) image: