Lederhosen boycott threatens Oktoberfest party

AFP/Yahoo ^ | Tue Mar 16,11:43 AM ET

[martin_fierro]

Lederhosen boycott threatens Oktoberfest party

Tue Mar 16,11:43 AM ET

MUNICH, Germany (AFP) - The loyal custodians of Bavaria's proud lederhosen tradition threatened to boycott the famed Oktoberfest beer party's opening parade in a row with their state government.

Angered by the axing of subsidies, the German state's traditional clothing associations have launched a wave of protests targeting the ruling Christian Social Union (CSU).

CSU lawmakers have been told by a number of associations that they are no longer welcome to speak at their functions.

State premier Edmund Stoiber, a dyed-in-the-wool Bavarian who has pointed proudly to the region's cultural heritage, is accused of betrayal.

Now the Munich Oktoberfest, the world's biggest beer party which last year drew 6.3 million revellers, might have to do without the traditional opening parade if disgruntled members carry out their boycott.

"It's one of several options we have," said Adi Mueller, a deputy chairman of the Bavarian Trachtenverband, an umbrella body representing 300,000 people in nearly 1,000 local associations.

"We're very disappointed," he told AFP. "We're being trodden on. Whenever they want to make cuts they take it out on volunteers like us."

He said Tracht -- leather shorts and embroidered braces for the men, long pleated smock and low-cut blouse for the women -- "belongs to Bavaria as part of our culture."

The outfits are expensive, up to 3,000 euros (3,700 dollars) for a woman's dirndl, and for four decades the Bavarian state has subsidised the cost.

But Bavaria, although wealthy, is feeling the economic pinch like the rest of Germany, and Stoiber's government wants to save a subsidy that amounts to half a million euros a year.

Trachtenverband chairman Otto Dufter said its members forked out some 3.7 million euros last year on clothing, and warned that cutting state aid would discourage the newer generation.

Mueller, however, insisted that the lederhosen and dirndl would live on.

"Our members are on the financial brink," he promised. "It's not easy, but we'll keep going even without the government's help."

[martin_fierro]

	Industrial Strength Humor
No amateurs, please. Send FReepmail if you want on/off ISHP list

Color Oktoberfest leder-hosed.

[dennisw]

The obvious solution is to outsource lederhosen production to China.

[TheRIGHTChoice]

OMGoodness that's the funniest thing I've heard all day Dennisw!