Eyepatch-wearing German chancellor Scholz sparks mirth

Frankfurt: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday posted a photo of himself wearing an eyepatch after injuring his face while jogging - triggering a flood of pirate jokes online.

Scholz suffered minor injuries after falling while out running on Sunday, forcing him to cancel some appointments that day.

The chancellor posted a picture on X, formerly known as Twitter, showing him wearing a large black patch over his right eye, with red scrape marks visible around the edge.

“Thanks for the well wishes, it looks worse than it is!” he wrote under the picture on his official account.

“Excited to see the memes,” he added.

And there were memes aplenty, many comparing him to a buccaneer.

Some showed an eyepatch-wearing cartoon pirate brandishing a cutlass, while others showed a pirate at a ship’s wheel.

There were also many messages wishing him a speedy recovery, with his tweet racking up over 9,000 likes and more than 2,000 comments shortly after it was posted.

Despite the injury, Scholz - who has been a regular runner for several years - was in good form, his spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said.

He also planned to attend his scheduled appointments including a tour of the IAA car show in Munich on Tuesday and a speech in parliament Wednesday.

“He’s doing well under the circumstances,” Hebestreit told a regular press briefing.

“He was in a good mood this morning - although he still looks a little battered.”