German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief election rival has sparked a storm by flipping the bird on the cover of the weekly magazine supplement of the Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily newspaper’s Friday edition. The middle finger, or “stinkefinger” (note: best vulgarity name, ever) is a fairly big deal in Germany. Cranking one out in public can earn you a fine of anywhere between 600 to 4,000 Euro.

Some context, from the Telegraph:

The image of the gaffe-prone Social Democrat candidate was taken for a photo-essay format called “Don’t Say Anything Now” in which subjects are asked to respond non-verbally to questions.

It might be fair to say that the timing of the shot isn’t especially great, given that Germans go to the polls on 22 September to vote for a new Chancellor.

[Source : Telegraph]