German Election Campaign: Narcissism, Nudism, and Potato Soup

Price caps on beer, promotion of nudism, and recipes for potato soup: the winner of the German parliamentary elections on Sunday is likely well known, but that does not mean the campaign lacked its share of intrigue.

Eight years after admitting she knows how to cook a really good potato soup, “Dr. Merkel” has finally revealed the recipe.

“I always mash the potatoes by hand, not with a blender,” the Chancellor recently told the German magazine Bunte. “This way, the small pieces of potato that must be in the soup remain consistent.”

>>>Merkel: We have set ourselves the goal of full employment by 2025.

Angela Merkel has had fierce political debates with opponents during her three terms, answered thousands of questions from journalists, but she has never revealed so much about herself as she did at a unique press conference on Sunday.

In response to questions from 57 children, some of whom were under 12 years old, the public learned that the Chancellor’s favorite animals are hedgehogs, elephants, and rabbits, that she loves to eat spaghetti Bolognese, and her favorite hobby is growing potatoes.

>>>AfD accuses Lidl of ‘anti-Christianity, capitulation to Islamism’

She feels most comfortable in vests and comfortable shoes, and she would love to be an astronaut on a flight around the Earth.

I only love myself

The leader of the German liberals, Christian Lindner, whose black-and-white promotional posters are compared to Calvin Klein ads, revealed that he struggled with obesity as a teenager.

“At 14, I weighed almost 100 kilos, and I was at least 10 centimeters shorter than I am today,” said the 38-year-old to Bild.

Thanks to a radical diet and regular jogging in the woods, he shed the excess weight. “Today I am 1.86 m tall and weigh 80 kilos,” he boasted.

>>>Schulz promises mandatory state investments, stronger workers’ rights, and all-day kindergartens

His model posters and self-praise for his good physique on social media have sparked quite a few mocking comments, including the remark that Lindner “falls in love with himself every 11 seconds.”

Neither yes nor no

The German party called The Party (Die Partai) wants to limit the price of beer. They also advocate a law that would declare Russians guilty for everything from train delays to unpaid rent.

>>>Schroeder’s closeness to Russia too dangerous for the SPD election

Although the party is satirical, its founder Martin Sonneborn won a seat in the European Parliament in the 2014 elections. He used slogans like “Merkel is stupid,” “Merkel is fat,” and the unambiguous “No to Europe, Yes to Europe.”

Their current party slogan is similar – “No to politics, Yes to politics.”

Naked ambition

The candidate of the far-left party called The Left (Die Linke), Gregor Gysi, is bothered by the fact that nudism in Germany is in significant decline. In an interview with German Playboy, he announced its revival.

>>>Foreign Policy: ‘Merkel’s method’ harms German democracy

“I will check with local politicians whether they offer nudism in their electoral districts,” he said, lamenting that the survival of the nudist movement in Germany, once particularly popular under the name FKK (Frei Koerper Kultur, culture of the free body), is under a big question mark.

If you logically thought that Gysi is a nudist, he is not. “I keep my nudity for my home,” he said.