A German Socialist's Slurpy Snogs

Erich Honecker, communist East Germany's last leader, has been accused of a lot of evil things over the years: sustaining a totalitarian regime, stifling political dissent, giving shoot-to-kill orders to soldiers guarding the Berlin Wall, just to name a few.

But now, a contemporary of the East German despot has come out with an accusation that could really ruin a guy's reputation. Apparently, Honecker -- who ruled the country from 1971 to 1989 -- was a lousy kisser.

According to another East Bloc autocrat, Polish communist leader General Wojciech Jaruzelski, kissing Honecker was "disgusting."

Jaruzelski, who was prime minister of Poland from 1981 to 1985 and president from 1985 to 1990, told Germany's Die Welt newspaper that Honecker always started meetings with hugs and fraternal, socialist pecks on the cheek.

"I exchanged many embraces with Honecker," Jaruzelski said. "He had this disgusting way of kissing."

It seems Honecker, who died in 1994, never got word that swapping spit with the big brass was a turnoff.

The proof? Reprints of photographs that show the grey-haired, bespectacled Honecker kissing cheeks with Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev or Mikhail Gorbachev are part of the popular culture in Germany.

And artist Dmitri Vrubel's picture of Honecker and Brezhnev kissing each other on the lips, painted on a section of the Berlin Wall, is one of Berlin's most popular tourist attractions. Unfortunately, it's barely visible now as it's been largely covered with graffiti -- maybe by people grossed out by Honecker's wet mouth-to-mouth action.