Germany
Lothar Müller
Süddeutsche Zeitung
An avalanche of mockery has buried the career of Bavarias top leader, said Lothar Müller in Munichs Süddeutsche Zeitung. Just five years ago, Edmund Stoiber was close to becoming chancellor of Germany, losing narrowly to Gerhard Schröder. Now, though, hes facing a serious challenge within his own Christian Social Union for Bavarian leadership, and hes been accused of spying on the challengers in a Watergate-style scandal. This spectacular decline of Stoiber the politician coincides with the rise of Stoiber the comedy star. Clips of Stoiber stammering and stuttering his way through boring speeches are some of the most popular German videos on YouTube. And they arent just snippets from TV; Stoibers fans doctor up the videos with mocking subtitles and jazzy music. True, Stoiber was never the most articulate politician, and some of his less elegant utterances were pretty funny. But this is far more than the normal, good-natured ribbing that politicians should expect. These videos have made Stoiber a national joke. Now that everyone is laughing at him, its doubtful he will ever be taken seriously again.
