"King of clowns" – Lindner gets the royal treatment 

Activists with clown noses interrupted a speech by Christian Lindner, former German finance minister and head of the Free Democratic Party, in Bavaria, holding a banner that called him "King of Clowns." 

On the 9th, he also got a "delightful" moment in Greifswald, where Lindner was hit with a shaving foam "pie." The police are now investigating the "sweet" gesture.  (Cynthia.. the video was great but too short, not 6 seconds, only 4.)

Germany is facing its longest economic crisis in 75 years, with no recovery expected by 2025, according to Gesamtmetall and YouGov.  

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called a snap election on February 23 following a no-confidence vote against Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government in the Bundestag parliament in December. 

That followed Scholz's sacking of Lindner in a disagreement over his budget. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU) bloc, led by Friedrich Merz, is currently ahead in the polls, followed by the right-wing AfD with Scholz’s Social Democrats in third.