Effigies of Barack Obama biting White House rival Hillary Clinton's bum and Chancellor Angela Merkel naked were paraded Monday through Cologne to the amusement of German carnival-goers.
The annual Rose Monday float procession in the western city showed Merkel joined at the hip to a rival within her ruling coalition, Kurt Beck, and also spoofed her interior minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble.
He was shown spying on an amorous couple in a comment on his drive for stricter domestic surveillance measures to counter the threat of extremist attacks.
One of the 100 odd floats that drew 1.2 million people to the streets of Cologne depicted Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden bathing in tub filled with blood.
Another carried a model of a mosque with missiles where its minarets would be, highlighting a local controversy over plans to build a mosque in Cologne.
Christoph Kuckelkorn, the deputy chief of the city's carnival committee, said the idea was to "show that people are worried about the project" but at the same time to warn against concerns being exploited by the far-right.
Political satire in questionable taste is a trademark of the Cologne parade which marks the highlight of Germany's carnival celebrations.
The carnival tradition has its roots in the Catholic regions in the west and south of Germany, but it has increasingly been adopted by cities in the north and east.
The festivities run until Wednesday.
