Germany raps UK papers for revealing Merkel shots

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany reproached two British
newspapers on Wednesday for publishing revealing photographs of
Chancellor Angela Merkel and her husband in holiday swimwear.

The Sun and Daily Sport ran the shots of Merkel and Joachim
Sauer relaxing by a pool on the Italian island of Ischia.

Merkel would not sue the papers as she was sure the public
would condemn the publication of the pictures, her government
spokesman Thomas Steg said.

The Sun ran a photo on Monday which it said showed Merkel’s
backside only partially covered by bathing trunks under the
headline: “I’m big in the Bumdestag,” a pun on the Berlin
parliament’s lower house, the Bundestag.

The text praised Merkel’s economic record, saying Germany
had a “much improved bottom line” and labeled her as “the
cheeky chancellor” and “the Iron Frau,” an allusion to
Britain’s first female premier, “Iron Lady” Margaret Thatcher.

However, the Daily Sport said on Monday that its picture,
apparently the same one, was Sauer getting changed. With a
hooded white bath robe masking the figure, it was unclear who
it actually was.

“The chancellor has an interest in recharging her
batteries, spending time with her husband and relaxing and not
constantly having to put up with the voyeuristic attentions of
photographers,” spokesman Steg told a regular news conference.

He said Germany’s media had behaved responsibly in
contrast.

Germany’s biggest-selling daily, Bild, which regularly has
page-one topless models and graphic images of violence,
attacked the Sun on Wednesday, saying it was “rotten to the
core” and that England’s football squad would suffer as a
result.

“We will kick you off the pitch at the World Cup because of
the photos in the Sun,” columnist Franz Josef Wagner wrote. “We
would never print photos of your Queen in support stockings.”

Bild reproduced the relevant page from the Sun next to an
article on Tuesday but concealed the backside with a red
rectangle.

The Sun, which ran further pictures in the paper and
online, said:

“Politicians and newspapers have reacted angrily to our
rear revelation. But the chancellor has proved she has a sense
of humor by telling us she won’t sue.”

(Additional reporting by Katie Allen in London)