The BBC reported this morning that Angela Merkel thought it ‘unimaginable’
that the co-pilot of the aeroplane that recently crashed, killing all aboard,
crashed the plane deliberately. Very odd: why, being German, did she use that
English word? Probably she didn’t; probably she said something in German, and
that is the BBC’s translation. I suppose we must take it on trust that it was a
correct translation, in which case two questions arise: because Frau Merkel
cannot, it seems, imagine something, is it therefore unimaginable? And if she
cannot imagine something that, terrible as it is, I’m sure everyone else can,
does this not suggest that she is not very imaginative, in fact not very
bright? So actually that raises a third question: do we really want someone dim
and unimaginative as political leader of the most powerful country in Europe? Let us hope that the people investigating the crash are rather more intelligent.
She said Fassungslosigkeit meaning bewilderment. Please check before conclusion.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Peter. I did say we had to take the BBC's translation on trust; we weren't given Merkel's actual words. As you can see from what I said, I didn't 'conclude' that she is dim and unimaginative; I said the question arose. But what you say is informative and to the point; thank you again.
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