German chancellor threatens to cancel his summer vacation in Italy over re

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is threatening to cancel his planned summer vacation in Italy after a member of the Italian government branded Germans as ''stereotyped blondes'' with a ''hyper-nationalist pride,'' a Berlin daily reported Monday. ---

Schroeder's spokesman Bela Anda told the Tuesday edition of the Berlin daily Tagesspiegel Stefani's remarks were ''unbelievable'' and an ''insult to all Germans who like to spend their vacations in Italy,'' including the chancellor. Anda could not be reached for comment late Monday. ---

Ride Don’t Drive It’s Global Cool

what Berlusconi said.

Germans aren't all blondes! Actually, most have brown hair. (I can talk, since I'm descended from some of 'em).

That being said, there are some definite cultural differences, and in particular, a few language differences where Germans can really come across as arrogant. I can speak freely of this because my ancestry, albeit distant, is German.

Germans tend to speak very directly. For example, if an employee's performance is being reviewed, the German manager might tell him/her where improvements are needed, but the manager might fail to say what a good job the person is doing in other aspects of his/her work. That's OK in German, but if this sort of review was given in an American workplace, the employee would see the manager as either very cold or ready to fire them.

By contrast, those of us who speak English use a few more 'politeness' phrases and words, especially when we are offering an attempt at constructive criticism of others. This is particularly the case for folks who live in the South. 'Please' and 'thank you' mean something.

Those of us who speak Spanish, Italian, and French, also use many words and phrases that imply politeness. A manager at a performance review wouldn't launch immediately into criticizing the employee's performance, without any praise....unless the manager was planning to fire the employee. The nuanced speech of Spanish and Italian may be seen as 'indirect' by those who are more used to forceful, direct criticism.

Germans can tick some folks off when they use "Sie mussen," which means "you must!" It is perfectly OK usage to say this frequently and in casual contexts, auf Deutsch. However, it is very commanding and imperative to use the equivalent 'you must' in either English or in Spanish, and I would assume, Italian. One time when I was backpacking in Latin America, a German tourist said, 'You must!' to me in a context that might have been appropriate in German but came off sounding very harsh in English or Spanish. Basically, I told that individual that, in the situation, I didn't 'have to' do anything!! Interestingly, I got along much better with French and Spanish tourists than with Germans.

The Italian language is very closely related to Spanish, and is much more nuanced and gentle than German. Even English sounds 'demanding' and 'harsh' to Spanish speakers. German is much harsher and more guttural than English. I remember when I was a little kid, that some of my Hispanic classmates thought that the teacher was yelling at them, when, in fact, she was just talking normally in English. This is because Spanish is a bit nuanced than English.

However, Berlusconi is a real jerk! He is no one to criticize the neighbors. I particularly don't like the fact that he owns so much of the media in Italy and is at the same time head of state. It reminds me too much of the Italian invention of the 'corporative state' that dates back to around 1922. Ay....Benito...