An Ambitious Politician, Hyppocrits, Bad PR and Good Laughs

by bloggi | March 28, 2007 at 08:52 am

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Some weeks ago, I reported on a scandal within the ultra-conservative CSU, eternally governing party in the German state of Bavaria and probably the most hypocritical organization in Germany.

At the time, Gabriele Pauli, a forty-something career politician who had gotten stuck amidst the upper ranks of politics began criticizing the still prime minister of the state, Edmund Stoiber.

Pauli was officially alone, but later party internal Brutuses, namely bleeding edge right wing interior minister of Bavaria, Günther Beckstein, and minister Erwin Huber. While there were some merits to Stoibers worn-out style of zigzag government, indecision and careerism, Beckstein and Huber were only too happy to enter into a race over the heritage when Stoiber finally announced he would resign in September this year.

While Pauli succeeded in toppling the state prime minister with a little unofficial helps from the shark tank, uneasy feelings first arose for me when the internet BBS she had opened was closed after a few days, with her "thanking" the public for their participation. It seemed, Pauli had sought the fast track to fame, and fame is what she got.

Later on, in press releases she circulated, Pauli announced that she was able to think of higher political office and "assuming more responsibilities for a larger group of people".

Photos appeared, showing Pauli on her motor bike (in leather), Pauli at the new year's reception with the still prime minister - in short: She got enormous attention.

On Tuesday, photos of Pauli appeared in the new glossy German version of Park Avenue, showing a Pauli full of herself in oily latex gloves, wearing a wig. Whoeee - its party time for the rest of the bunch at CSU, as Pauli with little or no PR counseling has started disassembling her own public image. The King's assassine gets rid of herself.

Of course, no one at CSU will fail to sharply attack Pauli for what is a good laugh in the eye of the observer, willing to amuse himself just a little.

Nonetheless, it's carnival, and Germany invites the world, just for the laughs. Have a look at the Pics from German news weekly Der Spiegel.

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German politician who helped to topple Bavarian premier Edmund Stoiber has been attacked by her colleagues for posing in latex gloves for a magazine.

Gabriele Pauli, a 49-year-old local politician in the Bavaria-based Christian Social Union (CSU), is featured in Park Avenue magazine wearing the long, black gloves.

Her outfit is otherwise conservative but it did not stop extensive German media coverage on Wednesday of the photo shoot.
Photo

"Politics needs to have a certain degree of respectability and Ms. Pauli has damaged this," Norbert Geis, a national member of parliament in the CSU, told the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung paper.

"Her behaviour is beyond the pale. She has brought this on herself," said party colleague Peter Uhl.

Pauli, who also wears a wig in the pictures, lashed out at the magazine for placing the photographs under a headline reading "Sankt (saint) Pauli". The term is well known in Germany as the name of a Hamburg red light district.

CSU leader Stoiber, who narrowly lost the 2002 election to former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, said he would stand down in September after 14 years as state premier following a snooping scandal centred around party rebel Pauli.

Pauli said Stoiber's office tried to obtain "information about lovers and alcohol consumption" to use against her.

The conservative CSU is the sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU).