Merz: Putin “may be the most serious war criminal of our time”
euromaidanpress.com
Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared that dealing with war criminals requires zero tolerance, specifically targeting Russian President Putin as potentially the current era's worst offender
  • biofaust@lemmy.worldEnglish
    69·
    1 month ago

    I may be applying a stereotype, but having a German calling someone “serious” could, if anything, even sound like a compliment.

    What does it even mean? A “serious crisis” or a “serious medical condition” is a negatively charged, but not “serious criminal”.

    Arséne Lupin is a serious criminal and that’s a compliment. I am VERY curious about the choice of words.

    Also @talkingpumpkin@lemmy.world is right, if this is a ranking, it is pointless if not counterproductive.

    • remon@ani.socialEnglish
      15·
      1 month ago

      The original quote is “den vielleicht schwersten Kriegsverbrecher unserer Zeit”.

      I think “most severe war criminial” would be a better translation.

        • krunklom@lemmy.zipEnglish
          14·
          1 month ago

          I’ve watched a lot of German documentaries and I’m 99% sure he’s actually saying he wants Putin to take a dump in his mouth.

        • remon@ani.socialEnglish
          5·
          1 month ago

          Yep. And it has like a dozen different English translations, depending on context.

    • tomi000@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      1 month ago
      1. Its translated
      2. Merz doesnt speak English well enough to make such a nuanced comment