Theo Waigel, chairman of the Christian Democrats' stroppy Bavarian ally, the Christian Social Union, was also applauded.

ECONOMIST: Can Kohl win in September?

"People think I'm stroppy, " Murray wrote in his own autobiography, denying the charge.

WSJ: 2012 London Olympics: Finally, a Golden Moment for Andy Murray - Jason Gay

As with all his adaptations, he subverts the text to concentrate on the heroine Gwendolen, who he turns into a vapid but stroppy travesty of a modern woman, instead of allowing the original plot to speak for itself.

BBC: Doctor Zhivago and Daniel Deronda: Your views

While Hilary worries about her stroppy daughter Tilly, played by Bel Powley, her marriage to her shop-owner husband Mark (Ewan Stewart) has gone stale, and her best friend Frances (Doon Mackichan) has taken up burlesque dancing to maintain her sexual allure.

BBC: Tamsin Greig revisits mid-life meltdown in Jumpy