'Too funny': German leader's photoshoot goes terribly wrong

As the old showbiz saying goes: never work with animals or children.

Outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel has left people in stitches after a photoshoot with a number of birds took a turn for the worst.

Ms Merkel, who is not running for a fifth term, visited the northeastern state of Mecklenburg Western-Pomerania on Thursday to promote the centre-right Union bloc’s candidate in the constituency she has held since 1990.

She posed with half a dozen rainbow lorikeets at a local bird park during the visit.

But unfortunately, the shoot got out of hand when more began swarming, prompting her to scream jokingly as they pecked her hand.

On Twitter, people shared the photos, with one man joking that the image reminded him of the bird lady from Home Alone 2.

“This has brightened my day immeasurably,” one woman said.

Another man Tweeted that it shows “even the strongest woman on earth has a child inside”.

“So touching to see this strong woman enjoy herself,” another woman wrote.

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A third woman called the pics “too funny”.

“I feel like Angela Merkel, photographed today in Germany with Australian lorikeets, is embodying the week we’ve all had,” another Tweeted.

Either way, Ms Merkel will hope her party is at the top of the pecking order when Germans hit the polls on Sunday local time.

with The Associated Press

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