Merkel's Cleavage Spices Up German Elections

German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has helped to attract more than 17,000 viewers to Vera Lengsfeld's campaign web site after sightings of an unauthorized photo on a campaign poster. Elections set for September 27 have taken on renewed interest with the appearance of Ms. Merkel's cleavage posted throughout an area of Berlin that isn't normally CDU territory. Interestingly enough, the poster, with a photo taken at the Oslo opera in April 2008, was not approved by Merkel. Underneath the photo of the two women with low cut necklines are the words "We have more to offer".

Vera Lengsfeld, who is running for a seat in the Bundestag said she needed to do something to increase the level of interest for her party in her constituency, which received only 12.4% of the vote four years ago. Ms. Lengsfeld, who appears with her cleavage displayed next to Merkel's, told the daily Bild: "I'm sure Ms Merkel is smiling about it. She's got a sense of humor, after all." A spokesperson for the conservative Christian Democratic Union said said: "That wasn't agreed with us." It doesn't seem that Ms. Merkel is amused by Ms. Lengsfeld's campaign tactics, but it might be labeled a stroke of brilliance if CDU is able to take more seats in the Bundestag, no matter what the method.

In a report by der Spiegel, men commented that the poster was sexist, while women tended to praise her courage. CNN interviewed men and women on the streets of Germany, with one slightly embarrassed businessman saying that he didn't want to see the breasts of Ms. Merkel. He wanted to see what she had to say about the economy. Some said both women were "too old" to be wearing such low cut necklines, while others smiled and said they enjoyed the spiciness.

With the amount of attention the poster has drawn, other candidates are said to be considering using the same photo of Ms. Merkel's cleavage in their own campaigns, but there is no talk of a nationwide campaign using this photo. The opposition Greens Party has their own spiced up campaign poster with the photo of a black woman's naked buttocks. German comedians are having a field day with satirical comment on the latest attempts to sway votes by means of sexed up political posters and slogans. The German campaign has taken the boring and tedious and raised the levels of interest and humor for all ages. No matter what the reaction, this has to be seen as a move in the right direction when it comes to political involvement by more German voters.

Sources:
www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,641787,00.html
uk.biz.yahoo.com/11082009/323/photo/election-poster-chancellor-angela-merkel-l-vera-lengsfeld-under-
slogan.html
www.clipta.com/Merkels_cleavage_controversy__nMjA3Mzkx