Merkel minister takes a tumble: German agriculture secretary trips on a step, rips her tights and loses her glasses during Bundestag debate
- Julia Klockner, 47, said the slip was triggered by her glasses fogging with mask
- Footage shows her tripping on a metal step and twisting her ankle during debate
- Onlookers quickly rush over to help her to her feet and continue speech
Germany’s agriculture secretary twisted her ankle as she tripped on a step during a Bundestag debate.
Julia Klockner lost her glasses and ripped her tights during the tumble which she said may have been triggered from her glasses fogging up while wearing a face mask.
Footage shows Ms Klockner tripping on the step and twisting her ankle before she flew through the air.
The 47-year-old, a member of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union who has been serving as Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection since 2018, landed on the ground with a thud before her glasses fell off.
Others at the debate quickly rushed to help her to her feet so she could continue the three hour budget debate on government policy.
Julia Klockner, 47, also lost her glasses during the tumble which she said may have been triggered from her glasses fogging up while wearing a face mask
The 47-year-old, a member of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union who has been serving as Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection since 2018, landed on the ground with a thud before her glasses fell off
Footage shows Ms Klockner tripping on the step and twisting her ankle before she flies through the air
Ms Klockner told BILD: ‘I got stuck with my shoe on the metal bar on the step. But mask and glasses are not always a good combination for the correct level assessment.’
She revealed that her tights ripped on her knee after the dramatic tumble.
Ms Klockner, a member of the Christian Democratic Union party, went on to joke that it was ‘more painful’ to listen to the speech of Annalena Baerbock – chairwoman of the German green party.
Others at the debate then quickly rush to help her to her feet so she could continue the three hour budget debate on government policy
The budget meeting was a discussion of the country’s new debt of €180billion because of the coronavirus crisis
She added: ‘Except for a brief shock, everything is fine.’
The budget meeting was a discussion of the country’s new debt of €180billion because of the coronavirus crisis.
Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, a member of the Social Democratic Party, defended the new debt but the opposition, the Alternative for Germany Party, disagreed.