Don't Touch the Currywurst

This week, Consumer Affairs and Agriculture Minister Renate Künast (photo) proposed increasing taxes on sweet and fattening foods.

The tax hike, from the current 7 percent to 16 percent, would serve two ends: open up an additional revenue stream while at the same time deterring Germans from super-sizing their calorie intake.

One expert even suggested using the money from the tax to provide free, healthy meals to children.

Germany's mass daily, Bild, jumped on the story, splashing it on the bottom of their front page.

But before the idea got too far out into the public realm, Finance Minister Hans Eichel shut it down. The tax just wasn't an option, he said, according to a dry statement from his ministry.

Rumor-mongers immediately seized upon the real reason behind Eichel's opposition. The tax would include Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's favorite dish: the famous Berlin Currywurst.

Some think that rather than anger his boss, who's already mulling whether or not he should replace his finance minister, Eichel vetoed the idea before his boss could.