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‘F**king furious’: Why Germany’s reaction to UK political chaos has gone viral

A German news broadcaster's report on UK political chaos has gained attention across the world due to her expletive descriptions of Liz Truss' last days in power.

Published: 21 October 2022 10:40 CEST

Liz Truss makes her resignation speech outside 10 Downing Street on Thursday October 20th. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/PA Wire | Kirsty O'connor

Truss quit after just six weeks in office, making her the shortest-serving prime minister in history.

As reporters across the world covered the story, German ARD news correspondent Annette Dittert caused a stir on social media with her word-for-word quotes while describing the government crisis leading up to Truss’ resignation.

On Thursday when Dittert was reporting on the chaotic incidents that happened the previous evening, she used strong English swear words – something which would be extremely unusual on British TV.

While describing the lack of cohesion and chaotic scenes in the House of Commons on Wednesday during a vote on fracking, Dittert said that the former Prime Minister’s deputy whip Craig Whittaker vented his frustration by saying he was “f**king furious and I don’t f**king care anymore”.

German TV news on what is happening in British politics is amazing. No need to understand German, watch to the end pic.twitter.com/RFPnD1iOFF

— Ben Phillips (@benphillips76) October 20, 2022

“Fisticuffs broke out in the lobby, where the votes are cast,” Dittert said in German while describing the atmosphere. “Government members are said to have physically pulled other Tory MPs into the right box.”

“Then suddenly it was said that there was no parliamentary group coercion, although this had been announced beforehand, whereupon the deputy leader of the parliamentary group left parliament with the words: ‘I’m f**king furious and I don’t f**king care anymore.’

“I’m not translating that now (into German), but this is a party where really every discipline has broken down,” she added.

Her candid report has been celebrated by many. One social media user called it the “best commentary on Truss resignation chaos”.

The best commentary on Truss resignation chaos from German TV (*absolutely must watch to the end)
pic.twitter.com/i2Qs0RM0OW

— John O’Brennan 🇺🇦 (@JohnOBrennan2) October 20, 2022

Oh this is gold. Wait for it…#GermanTVonBritishPolitics pic.twitter.com/a3YeNIMiXj

— Mike Galsworthy (@mikegalsworthy) October 20, 2022

Some people questioned why it was acceptable to use English swear words on German TV.

Why is it OK to swear in English on German TV?

“Shitstorm” etc etc

— Douglas Busvine (@Busvine) October 20, 2022

Dittert said it was the first time she had used swear words in English on German TV – but added on Twitter that she was quoting a “Tory in despair” rather than using the language herself.

So I finally made into the Mail. Thanks to all those lovely people who made this clip go viral and just one thing that needs to be clarified: I didn’t swear myself, I just quoted a Tory in despair. pic.twitter.com/eeAvdFEed3

— Annette Dittert (@annettedittert) October 21, 2022

However, as The Local has reported in the past, Germans in general tend to be more accepting of English swear words – they are not seen to be as offensive as swearing in Germany.

Some words are also used in a different way than native English speakers. For example, it’s not unusual for mainstream German media and politicians – even former chancellor Angela Merkel – to say words like “shitstorm”, which is used by Germans to describe a controversy on the internet.

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Thousands of jobs have already been lost in the region, where wind farms now rise near abandoned open-pit mines and many people look with dread towards 2038, the deadline for the “coal exit”.

Their fears help explain the strong local support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which does not just rail against migrants but also rejects the green energy push and questions man-made climate change.

At local elections held in Spremberg in June, the AfD scored 39.3 percent – an omen ahead of regional elections next Sunday in the state of Brandenburg, which polls suggest it could win.

Lignite, or brown coal, may be a climate killer, but since the 19th century it has been key to the identity of the Lusatia industrial region on the Polish border, known as the Lausitz in German.

“Thousands of people here have been linked to coal their whole working lives,” said the town’s mayor, Christine Herntier, an independent who has held the post for a decade.

“We are proud of our tradition,” said Herntier, 67, pointing to a huge map on her office wall of the Schwarze Pumpe plant and its surrounding industrial complex.

Most people in Spremberg, population 25,000, have grudgingly accepted the coal phase-out plan, under which the government has earmarked billions for structural transition plans, she said.

But, she added, ahead of the state election the winding down of coal “is still a big issue”.

‘Anger over wind farm’

Michael Hanko, the AfD’s top representative in Spremberg, said he is certain that the looming demise of the lignite industry is “one of the main reasons” residents are voting for his party.

“I don’t think the government has really got them on board with this whole prescribed transformation, saying that we now have to do everything with renewable energies,” Hanko said.

Michael Hanko, the AfD (Alternative for Germany) top candidate, in Spremberg, eastern Germany on, September 9, 2024. Photo by Femke COLBORNE / AFP

The AfD, founded about a decade ago, scored a triumph earlier this month when it won an election in the eastern state of Thuringia and came a close second in Saxony.

It now also has a good chance of winning in Brandenburg, the state that surrounds Berlin, where it is polling narrowly in first place at around 27 percent.

When the German government decided five years ago to phase out coal, it pledged around €40 billion to help coal regions adapt, with €17 billion for the Lausitz alone.

Much of the money is intended to flow into developing the renewables and hydrogen sectors, helping the region maintain its identity as an energy hub.

But residents complain the investment has been too slow to materialise and is flowing into the wrong places.

In Spremberg, plans to extend a nearby wind park have caused outrage among some locals, who fear it will be a threat to 150-year-old trees, a protected swallow species and drinking water.

‘Something different’

Coal has long been synonymous with the Lausitz region, which takes in parts of Brandenburg and Saxony and a small strip of Poland, and where lignite was discovered in the late 18th century.

But the industry all but collapsed after German reunification in 1990, when most of the region’s open pit mines were shut down and thousands of jobs vanished.

Today, only around 8,000 people are employed in the lignite industry across the Lausitz, with 4,500 of them in Brandenburg, though the industry is still one of the largest private employers in the state and coal remains a strong part of the region’s identity.

Already weary from the problems caused by reunification, people in the region have felt “overwhelmed” by recent global challenges, said Lars Katzmarek, a board member of the Pro-Lausitz campaign group.

Lars Katzmarek, board member of the Pro-Lausitz campaign group. Photo by Femke COLBORNE / AFP

“The coronavirus, the energy crisis, the Ukraine war – these are all very difficult things that people still haven’t fully digested… and perhaps at some point they just close their ears,” he said.

On a rainy morning in Spremberg, Joachim Paschke, 81, who used to work in mechanical engineering and welding, was buying bread rolls in the bakery opposite the town hall.

“I’m definitely not an AfD supporter but I can understand people who are,” he said.

“The established parties have nothing concrete and the AfD is offering something different. People want change.”

By Femke COLBORNE