Probable foreign minister Westerwelle to press:"We're in Germany, speak German!"

[Syt]

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE58R37Y20090928

German minister-to-be rebuffs question in English

BERLIN (Reuters) - Guido Westerwelle, who is widely expected to become foreign minister in the next German government, admonished a reporter who asked him a question in English on Monday, saying: "We're in Germany here."

The head of the Free Democrats (FDP), who are poised to enter government in coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, was giving his first news conference since Sunday's election when a BBC reporter asked whether he might be willing to respond to a question in English.

"Would you please be so kind, this is a press conference in Germany," Westerwelle replied in German.

Undeterred, the reporter then asked Westerwelle if he could respond in German to a question in English, only to be rebuffed again.

"In Great Britain people are expected to speak English and it is the same in Germany, people are expected to speak German," Westerwelle answered.

Using a translator, the BBC reporter then proceeded to ask a question about how German foreign policy would change with Westerwelle as foreign minister.

Westerwelle dodged the question, before adding: "Just so it's clear, I'm happy to meet you for tea outside the press conference and then we can speak only English. But we're in Germany here."

[Berkut]

What is German for giant douchebag?

[Valmy]

...so?

[Darth Wagtaros]

What is German for giant douchebag?

German, oddly enough.

[Neil]

Sounds like a Nazi to me.  Anybody who shows the slightest bit of German nationalism is suspect.

[Maximus]

Obviously a French sleeper.

[The Brain]

I only speak Swedish in Sweden. If an American tourist with a baseball cap and blue-haired wife comes up to me and ask for the way to the Royal Palace I say "ja ja hej så länge tack tack!" and consider my work done.

[Neil]

Still, what can you expect from a homosexual?  Intollerance is their lifeblood.

[Berkut]

You should run for foreign minister.

[DisturbedPervert]

The BBC (and other news agencies) should try getting reporters who actually speak the local language.

[The Brain]

The BBC (and other news agencies) should try getting reporters who actually speak the local language.

OTOH you generally do NOT want to hear an Anglo-Saxon butcher the language of Goethe and Hitler. They can't get German right.

[Valmy]

The BBC (and other news agencies) should try getting reporters who actually speak the local language.

Right?  I mean I can understand lacking Estonian speakers or something but sending somebody to report on Germany who is unable to speak in German?

[Syt]

The BBC (and other news agencies) should try getting reporters who actually speak the local language.

Right?  I mean I can understand lacking Estonian speakers or something but sending somebody to report on Germany who is unable to speak in German?

http://www.abendblatt.de/politik/deutschland/article1149499/Murphy-ist-neuer-US-Botschafter-in-Deutschland.html
An article about the new U.S. ambassador to Germany (Philip D. Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs exec) says, "Unlike his predecessors, he speaks German."

[Grallon]

The one on the left isn't bad looking - is it him?

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As for this comeback...  Where's the limit between accomodating others and being taken for granted?  It's quite arrogant to assume that because english is the 'lingua franca' (that's a laugh) of the planet, anyone spoken to in that language should switch to it, no matter the circumstances. 



G.

[Valmy]

An article about the new U.S. ambassador to Germany (Philip D. Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs exec) says, "Unlike his predecessors, he speaks German."

Well that is different.  U.S. ambassadors are political cronies selected because of their financial support and value to the party, not because of any professional qualifications...except for truly shitty assignments no cronies want.

I would hope the professionals who do the actual work speak German.