Mild-mannered German Chancellor Scholz embraces ‘pirate’ image after jogging spill
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is having a bit of fun after a jogging incident over the weekend forced him to don an eye patch.
The 65-year-old fell on Saturday and sustained bruises to his face, according to Deutsche Welle.
Mr. Scholz decided to make the best of it, posting a formal photo of himself on the X platform — formerly Twitter — with a shirt and tie and a big black patch over his right eye.
“I look forward to the memes. Thanks for the well wishes, looks worse than it is!” Mr. Scholz wrote.
Online users were happy to oblige, posting a mockup of the famously buttoned-up, low-key chancellor with a pirate hat and parrot on his shoulder.
German media said the chancellor was forced to cancel public events on Sunday but has a busy week ahead.
Mr. Scholz, a member of the Social Democratic Party, has been chancellor since December 2021. He replaced Angela Merkel, who served as chancellor for 16 years.
Notably, Mr. Scholz has overseen Germany’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He’s increased the country’s defense budget, sent weapons to Ukraine and halted the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia.
