A famously enthusiastic marathon runner, the much-maligned foreign minister is looking increasingly like he just can't take the pace.

In the last two years, he's ballooned some 20 kilos (about 40 pounds), and party colleagues were recently quoted in the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung as saying they weren't sure the man usually described as the Greens' trump card will be able to withstand the physical rigors of a general election.

"An election campaign can have adverse affects on the heart and blood pressure," cardiologist Professor Rudolf Blasini told Bild tabloid.

Adding pounds, losing votes

Dubbed "Yo-Yo Joschka" on account of his forever-fluctuating weight, Fischer has certainly seen leaner days.

In 1998, when Germany's first left-of-center government of Social Democrats and the environmental Greens party came to power, he was in top form, even publishing a book entitled "My Long Run Towards Myself" about his struggle to stay fit. The dedication he demonstrated as an athlete was widely seen as testimony to his political stamina.

But the temptations of the Bundestag buffet -- not to mention all those endless diplomatic dinners -- have taken their toll on the notorious gourmet and bon vivant.

These days, the paparazzi are more likely to spot the portly politician enjoying meals at Berlin's best restaurants with his young companion, Minu Barati, than pounding the pavements as a sweat-drenched long-distance runner. Some have joked that the German vice chancellor is working on a sequel to his book: "My Long Run Around Myself"

Salad days

Fischer's weight has been variously described as a barometer of his party's fortunes and an indication of his chameleon-like ability to reinvent himself.

So can Joschka transform back into the debonair diplomat of the past? The Green party certainly hopes so -- if Joschka Fischer isn't at his best, their campaign is lost. It's time to put away the schnitzel and head back to the running track.