In pictures: Germany's carnival mocks Trump and Putin
Carnival season was in full swing this morning in Germany, with cities lining up the streets with their best floats, or the ones that combine elements of satire for political commentary on state and world affairs.
Image: Federico Gambarini/dpa/picture alliance
Friedrich Merz and a heavy load
Germany's chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz is shown as a donkey pulling a cart to mean how slowly things might change — as words like recession, debt limits, far-right AfD party appear prominently.
Image: Federico Gambarini/dpa/picture alliance
Float calls Elon Musk 'Napo Elon'
A carnival float mocks Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, for his support for the far-right AfD party in Germany and his quest for power.
Image: Federico Gambarini/dpa/picture alliance
Restrictions on Afghan women not forgotten
Taliban officials are mocked for their restrictions on women's rights, with the banner here reading: 'This is how we protect our women.'
Image: Oliver Berg/dpa/picture alliance
Germany's far-right politician goes mainstream
Alice Weidel, the leader of Germany's far-right AfD party who became the first far-right politician to lead the country since end of the Nazi era, is seen as the witch in the fable of Hansel and Gretel luring first-time voters with social media as the cookie crumbs.
Image: Federico Gambarini/dpa/picture alliance
AI is eating the world
One float took aim at the rapid development of Artificial Intelligence (Künstliche Intelligenz, KI, in German), amid fears that the technology can take over the world.
The cities on Germany's Rhine River celebrated the carnival season with colorful costumes, food, and heroic quantities of beer, or the local Kölsch, on Rose Monday.
But the parades dotting those cities on Rose Monday, known as Rosenmontag, are the ones that play a big part in the visual element of Germany's carnival season in the region.
The parades have a satirical connection and bring out the heart of the Rose Monday carnival tradition in Germany's Rhineland.
Big carnival street parties run from Weiberfastnacht (Women's Carnival) on the Thursday, before Shrove Tuesday, to Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.
