THERE is breaking news in the campaign for Germany's parliamentary election on September 22nd. Another outbreak of the euro crisis? No, thank god. A sudden German decision with respect to the situation in Syria? No again. Perhaps an unexpected scandal from long ago involving one of the candidates? No.

The news is that Peer Steinbrück, the candidate of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and thus the lead challenger to chancellor Angela Merkel, is pictured on the cover of Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazine giving us the finger.

And now everybody is talking about that and nothing else.

The SPD is of course spinning it as Peer being Peer—ie, being refreshingly unscripted and spontaneous, as when he speaks Klartext (straight talk). Everybody else is spoofing him as Peerlusconi and what not.