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Offenbarungseid

English translation: a declaration of political bankruptcy

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:Offenbarungseid
English translation:a declaration of political bankruptcy
Entered by: Gordon Matthews

15:27 May 15, 2020
German to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - Government / Politics
German term or phrase: Offenbarungseid
Here's the sentence in which this word appears:
"Die angekündigte Vertagung der Einführung eines europäischen Mindestlohns ist ein Offenbarungseid."
I must confess to not having come across this word before. Is that itself an Offenbarungseid???!
Any help will be gratefully received!
(The sentence appears in a political statement by an MEP.)
Gordon Matthews
Germany
Local time: 07:10
a sign of (political) bankruptcy
Explanation:
Some more context would be useful, but could it be meant figuratively as in the news article below?

'Mit den vielen Millionen sollte viel für Luftreinhaltung getan werden

Doch „wenn das Geld nicht abgerufen wird – und danach sieht es momentan aus – bekommen die Konzerne das Geld teilweise zurücküberwiesen“, sagt Krischer. Das sei den Konzernen vertraglich zugesichert worden. „Wenn es dazu kommt, wäre das ein politischer Offenbarungseid.“'
Selected response from:

Catriona C.
Germany
Grading comment
"Offenbarungseid" is clearly used in a metaphorical sense in this case. A direct literal translation would not make much sense. Thank you for your very helpful answer.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +5a sign of (political) bankruptcy
Catriona C.
5 +1confession / admission of defeat
Rupert Kindermann
4 -1debtor's oath
Barbara Schmidt, M.A. (X)
5 -2oath of disclosure
Dr. Jozsef Dikter
3reveals the true colors
Michael Martin, MA


  

Answers


8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
debtor's oath


Explanation:
see also
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/poor debtor's oat...

Barbara Schmidt, M.A. (X)
Germany
Local time: 07:10
Native speaker of: German
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  AllegroTrans: metaphorical use so better to reword it
20 hrs
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9 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
confession / admission of defeat


Explanation:
The definitions below come from the dictionary
Pons GWB Deutsch-Englisch

"Offenbarungseid" here is used figuratively.
It's definition No. you want to use.

Hope it helps

Rupert Kindermann
Germany
Local time: 07:10
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
Notes to answerer
Asker: Many thanks, Rupert, for this helpful response. It put me on the right track!


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  philgoddard: I don't disagree with this, but I think Catriona's answer (which is actually the translation given in your reference) is stronger, and closer to the German. http://en.pons.com/translate/german-english/offenbarungseid
27 mins
agree  Chris Pr: I think it's more of a 'statement' than a 'sign' or 'hint' and would use 'admission of [political] failure', with "admission" being the indispensable word to partner "announcement"... (edited for better clarity)
42 mins
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24 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +5
a sign of (political) bankruptcy


Explanation:
Some more context would be useful, but could it be meant figuratively as in the news article below?

'Mit den vielen Millionen sollte viel für Luftreinhaltung getan werden

Doch „wenn das Geld nicht abgerufen wird – und danach sieht es momentan aus – bekommen die Konzerne das Geld teilweise zurücküberwiesen“, sagt Krischer. Das sei den Konzernen vertraglich zugesichert worden. „Wenn es dazu kommt, wäre das ein politischer Offenbarungseid.“'

Example sentence(s):
  • The announcement that the introduction of a European minimum wage has been delayed is a sign of political bankruptcy.

    https://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/politik/Milliardenschweres-Sofortprogramm-Saubere-Luft-wird-kaum-genutzt-id55442756.html
Catriona C.
Germany
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
"Offenbarungseid" is clearly used in a metaphorical sense in this case. A direct literal translation would not make much sense. Thank you for your very helpful answer.
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you very much for your answer, which I found very helpful: close to the original and yet conveying the metaphorical sense which is required. In the end, I chose to translate the phrase as follows: "tantamount to a declaration of political bankruptcy".


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Adrian MM.: literally 'An Affidavit of Means' often threatened by German judges in family law cases www.linguee.de/englisch-deutsch/uebersetzung/affidavit of m...
6 mins
  -> Thanks for the additional reference!
agree  philgoddard
13 mins
  -> Thank you :)
agree  Klaus Beyer: amounts to a declaration of bankruptcy (instead of "sign")
3 hrs
  -> Thanks, that would also work
agree  AllegroTrans: admission rather than sign
5 hrs
  -> Thank you, agree that you could choose something else instead of 'sign'
agree  Frosty
2 days 14 hrs
  -> Thank you
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): -2
oath of disclosure


Explanation:
That one seems to be an outdated legal expression. Please check the link below.

Example sentence(s):
  • „Mit solchen Manövern macht die SPD die Grundrente kaputt“, erklärte Spahn. Unionsfraktionsvize Hermann Gröhe sprach von einem „finanzpolitischen und sozialpolitischen Offenbarungseid“.

    Reference: http://https://www.inkassoportal.de/lexikon/offenbarungseid
Dr. Jozsef Dikter
Hungary
Local time: 07:10
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Hungarian

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Klaus Beyer: Is obviously used as a metaphor only
2 hrs
  -> Where was I wrong then? Was it the link, or the sentence? Would you stay fair please, when underscoring others?
disagree  AllegroTrans: metaphorical use
4 hrs
  -> Where was I wrong then? Was it the link, or the sentence? Would you stay fair please, when underscoring others?
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
reveals the true colors


Explanation:
"...reveals the true colors of the instigators....

We definitely need the metaphorical meaning here. The German does not imply that the party that messed things up has literally admitted defeat.

Political bankruptcy might work but it's broad; I think we need something that includes an element of 'pulling back the curtain' or 'unmasking the truth' since what we have here is closer to "die ungeschminkte Wahrheit offenbaren" See definition and quote below:
https://www.openthesaurus.de/synonyme/(einen) Offenbarungsei...

"Kommentar: Würzburger Video ist ein Offenbarungseid für die AfD

Compare with this:
"COVID-19 didn’t only infect millions of people but it laid bare the true colors of many leaders and the fragility of company culture." https://www.lvb.com/post-pandemic-world-will-business-unusua...

"Offenbarungseid" is also often invoked when there has been s bungled or disastrous response to a problem that would have required a more thoughtful or better prepared response.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 1 hr (2020-05-16 17:21:00 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

This is actually an unusually interesting query. Having played around with this for a while, I have decided that there's no one-size-fits-all equivalent for this in English.."Offenbarungseid" is a metaphor that can be applied to many situations where someone (in authority?) appears to have been unmasked or revealed to be inept. With a bit more context, it may be possible to at least narrow things down a little. But at this point, I have a bunch of ideas without a way to determine which is best because there isn't enough context. Here are some of them:

The announcement that the launch of the European minimum wage initiative has been postponed ..

lays bare the true colors of those responsible.

shows how easily some are willing to throw their hands up (in the face of challenges)

has revealed the naked truth about those responsible.

has been an eye opener on many levels.

is a cop-out on the part of those responsible

is a (sad) testament to the (sheer) incompetence of those involved

has pulled back the curtain on those responsible

strips away the veneer of respectability

shows how easily those involved are willing to cave in to convenience

Michael Martin, MA
United States
Local time: 01:10
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 76
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