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Angela Merkel Breaks Pelvis After Skiing Accident: Other Famous Political Injuries
Those of us who get breaking news alerts woke up to weird one on our phones this Monday morning. Attention: German Chancellor Angela Merkel has fractured her pelvis following a ski accident. Meaning, the EU's economy is about to fall apart. Oh, wait, actually it only means that she'll have to be on bed rest for a few days. Merkel still plans to chair a cabinet meeting Wednesday — the first with the new coalition government. Somehow, this is big news.
When our beloved world leaders prove themselves breakable, we tend to freak out. Here's a look back at some notable political injuries. (And no, Weiner's weiner did not make the cut.)
Vladimir Putin's Back
In November 2012, rumors circulated after Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was spotting limping around the Kremlin. What befell the infallible Putin, widely known for his bare-chested sportsman photoshoot? Was it a bird? Was it a plane? Close: the injury coincided with a hang-gliding adventure that involved following a flock of white cranes along their migration route. (No, really.)
After days of rampant media speculation, it turned out that Putin just wrecked his back doing a little casual judo. “I know he has this problem. He loves judo. He lifted a guy, threw him, and twisted his spine,” Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko said. As you do, Putin. As you do.
Hillary's Concussion
Hillary Clinton took to wearing some thick black frames with a funky left lens (called a Fresnel prism, nerds) in December 2012. No, it was not a style statement (still love your pantsuits, Hils): the former secretary of state had suffered a concussion following a faint that month which left her with temporary double-vision. Still, she quickly healed, and was finally able to go frame-free for Valentine’s Day. Because, you know, that’s the real measure of having it all.
Joe Biden's Contact Lens Injury
Perhaps to prove that he and Hillary see eye-to-eye on issues, Joe Biden turned up in glasses last February, too. The vice president’s left eye was all red and wonky, and things were looking a little rough. The culprit? Scratching his eye with a contact lens. So humanizing.
(Image: Alexander Mooney/Twitter)
David Cameron's Protruding Disk
Is it just us or does that caption sound dirty? UK Prime Minister David Cameron was recently waylaid on the remote Isle of Jura in Scotland with a protruding disc. Cameron referred to the injury as a “bore,” but Jura is a stunning place to be stranded. “It’s a great place to unwind. I like the great outdoors. I like an active holiday,” he said.
Amazingly, this wasn’t the first time Cameron had been injured on Jura: he’d been in a water-skiing accident on the frigid northern island about six years before.
Burlusconi's Entire Face
Before all the bunga-bunga caught up with him, Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Burlusconi took one to the face at a party rally in 2009. A protestor in the crowd hit his visage with a replica of the Milan cathedral (symbolic much?), and the leader was lifted into an ambulance with two broken teeth and a broken nose.
Burlusconi finally had everything fixed up in 2011 with a four-hour surgery. (And perhaps got some Botox, for good measure.)
