Photographs of German Chancellor Angela Merkel shopping recently at a supermarket were published on Thursday in the German daily Bild, accompanied by commendations of her modesty and humanity.
Merkel visited a supermarket near her office in Berlin in late July, purchasing oranges and lemons, according to a Bild reader who took the photographs. She stood in line with other customers and paid in cash from her own wallet. "Everything looked absurdly normal, except for the three bodyguards who were watching everything," said the reader. Columnist Franz Josef Wagner assessed that Merkel thereby demonstrated how close she is to ordinary people."Our chancellor does not move around on millionaire yachts. She stands in line at the supermarket and pays her bill herself. She is a simple woman. A great woman. A woman from the supermarket," he commented. (H)
