Copy, Paste, Delete*

I'm sorry.

However: if someone who has committed blatant intellectual fraud (g) and been caught out in the most thorough and pathetic manner (g) finally accepts the fact that his position has become ultimately untenable but nevertheless still not only tries to depict himself as a victim (e) of the media (despite the support of the nation's largest circulation newspaper) but also manipulates the real tragedy of soldiers' deaths to relativise his crimes, then I think he's lost all claim to anyone's sympathy as well as any justification for receiving an opportunity for a 'political comeback' any time soon.

And a chancellor who tries to downplay (g) the genuine and legitimate outrage -- not only of her nation's academic elite but also of several leading figures in her own party -- at the arrogant posturing of such a fraudulent poser as merely 'hypocrisy' (Scheinheiligkeit) (g) has also, in my estimation, demonstrated a lack of honesty and seriousness.

Still, I'm feeling pretty good, in that, remarkably enough, I live in a country where a posse of outraged academics can bring down a popular defence minister on the basis of intellectual rectitude.

Which is not what I expected (e).

In some way, that's a good sign.

Compared to Italy (g) we're doing quite well.

*Title taken from Der Spiegel. (See, KT, it's not that hard to cite your sources.)