By Vanessa Gera
BERLIN (AP) - Henrico Frank went from being just another of Germany's four million unemployed to a celebrity overnight.
All it took was a haircut and a shave.
Now, Frank may even have landed himself a steady job, thanks to an unexpected run-in this week with a politician in central Germany.
Frank's luck began to change Tuesday, when he was cruising through a Christmas market in Wiesbaden, wearing grubby clothes, a pair of nose rings and a thatch of partially bleached, punk-inspired hair.
The 37-year-old, who has been without work for six years, chanced upon Kurt Beck, chairman of the Social Democrats who make up one-half of Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government.
Beck was a perfect target for Frank's frustration and he harangued the politician for what he saw as the failure of economic measures aimed at lifting people like himself - a construction worker - out of unemployment and into a better life.
Beck's retort?
"If you would just wash and shave, you'd find a job, too."
Two days later, Frank lopped off his locks, shaved his dark beard and removed his nose rings. Then he organized a news conference.
"I am ready to change," Frank said, adding he is fed up with living off handouts from the unemployment office.
"I'll take any job."
Frank instantly became the talk of German news media, with one newspaper splashing his before-and-after photos on its front page Friday.
And his makeover seems to have worked. Beck plans to present Frank with several job offers next week from construction, house-painting and cleaning companies.
Frank's story has prompted serious debate and soul-searching about whether German leaders are focusing enough on reining in unemployment in Europe's biggest economy. Last month, unemployment slipped to 9.6 per cent in Germany, the first time in four years it was less than 10 per cent. But nearly four million Germans remain without work.
Beck was accused by some of attempting to shift responsibility for the country's jobless rate from the government to the unemployed. One Green party member, Thea Dueckert, told the Die Welt newspaper Beck was stigmatizing the jobless.
"With four million unemployed, you cannot seriously claim that the people themselves bear guilt for their destiny," she said.
BERLIN (AP) - Henrico Frank went from being just another of Germany's four million unemployed to a celebrity overnight.
All it took was a haircut and a shave.
Now, Frank may even have landed himself a steady job, thanks to an unexpected run-in this week with a politician in central Germany.
Frank's luck began to change Tuesday, when he was cruising through a Christmas market in Wiesbaden, wearing grubby clothes, a pair of nose rings and a thatch of partially bleached, punk-inspired hair.
The 37-year-old, who has been without work for six years, chanced upon Kurt Beck, chairman of the Social Democrats who make up one-half of Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government.
Beck was a perfect target for Frank's frustration and he harangued the politician for what he saw as the failure of economic measures aimed at lifting people like himself - a construction worker - out of unemployment and into a better life.
Beck's retort?
"If you would just wash and shave, you'd find a job, too."
Two days later, Frank lopped off his locks, shaved his dark beard and removed his nose rings. Then he organized a news conference.
"I am ready to change," Frank said, adding he is fed up with living off handouts from the unemployment office.
"I'll take any job."
Frank instantly became the talk of German news media, with one newspaper splashing his before-and-after photos on its front page Friday.
And his makeover seems to have worked. Beck plans to present Frank with several job offers next week from construction, house-painting and cleaning companies.
Frank's story has prompted serious debate and soul-searching about whether German leaders are focusing enough on reining in unemployment in Europe's biggest economy. Last month, unemployment slipped to 9.6 per cent in Germany, the first time in four years it was less than 10 per cent. But nearly four million Germans remain without work.
Beck was accused by some of attempting to shift responsibility for the country's jobless rate from the government to the unemployed. One Green party member, Thea Dueckert, told the Die Welt newspaper Beck was stigmatizing the jobless.
"With four million unemployed, you cannot seriously claim that the people themselves bear guilt for their destiny," she said.