Merkel pleased to hang Schroeder at last

Reuters ^

[Michael81Dus]

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday she was pleased to hang Gerhard Schroeder at last -- even if it was only a portrait of her former rival.

Merkel and her predecessor as chancellor traded light-hearted barbs at a ceremony in the chancellery in Berlin, where Schroeder was on his first visit since losing an acrimonious election to Merkel in 2005. Portraits of all postwar chancellors now hang there.

"Visitors won't have to ask me any more: 'Why hasn't Schroeder been hung up?'" Merkel said.

Schroeder then pointed to the space next to his portrait -- reserved for the next ex-chancellor.

"The fact that there's space next to my portrait suggests that you -- who knows when that may happen -- will be hanging up there next to me," said Schroeder.

"And I hope no one will call us a 'dream couple'."

[Michael81Dus]

[Jaysun]

The “portraits” behind them are terrible. Very modern, immoral.

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

Yeah, jokes about killing your political rivals are always hilarious...and classy, too.

[Michael81Dus]

Well, this is the Chancellery in Berlin. It´s a modern building (opened in 2001). Modern paintings fit in very well, I think.

[Michael81Dus]

[Jaysun]

Yeah, jokes about killing your political rivals are always hilarious...and classy, too.

I thought the Germans were prohibited from making such jokes when they lost WWII.

[Jaysun]

Well, this is the Chancellery in Berlin. It´s a modern building (opened in 2001). Modern paintings fit in very well, I think.

I've been there. My wife is German and we go about once a year.

I have a rather complicated and lengthy theory which says that the love of modern art and architecture indicates immorality. But that's for another thread and another time.

[Red6]

I hope they produced a duplicate portrait to hang in the Kremlin as well. I woudn’t doubt he’d be proud of that too.

[Red6]

Actually it’s fascinating

There DEFINETLY is a link in architecture. May it be Rome, Nazi Germany in the past, imperial Britain, the French Empire..... Certain ways of thinking tend to build certain ways. In art it does appear that you get the more propagandistic themes, tied to very expressive faces, large hands, feet........ The statues of Lenin for example that the communists place everywhere when they conquer the people of some land. Please explain your connection between moder art and amoral or immoral behavior!

[Jaysun]

Please explain your connection between moder art and amoral or immoral behavior!

Red,
Let me dig up my notes and post a thread on the subject. I've been reluctant to do so because it's such a touchy subject for some. But what the hell? I'll ping you.

[PAR35]

Please ping me as well.

[PAR35]

The center portrait and the one on our right aren’t bad. The one on the left and the two in post 1 - yuck.

[xp38]

Indeed...as documented by Monty Python joke warfare was banned by the Geneva convention.

[dr_who]

Schroeder sounds like the sort of guy who won’t be hung. He’ll either eventually get the firing squad or suspended life sentence followed by a book deal.