German Chancellor debuts low cut gown, sparks media frenzy

European press can’t stop talking about Angela Merkel’s Saturday opera dress

The low-cut opera dress worn by German Chancellor Angela Merkel last weekend has become a media fixation. London’s Daily Mail ran a story with the headline: “Merkel’s Weapons of Mass Distraction.” New York-based Gawker ran an item entitled “German Chancellor Angela Merkel not Afraid to Show Her Breastesses.” The obsessive media attention is part of an ongoing trend which sees the physical attributes of high-powered women—including Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton—intensely scrutinized. “The chancellor was a bit surprised that this evening dress caused such a splash,” Thomas Steg, the government’s deputy spokesman, told reporters earlier this week.

Spiegel Online