Ow-ah. Six months after Vanity Fair was launched in Germany as a weekly magazine, Der Spiegel reports Condé Nast is running into major problems with Deutsche-Vanity Fair. A few of the highlights:

• Condé Nast is spending € 500,000 (US$670,000) weekly on the magazine, which is also suspected of exaggerating a sold print run of 120,000.

• The usually mild-mannered Spiegel accuses Vanity Fair EIC Ulf Poschardt of "flamboyant arrogance" and his staff of "burn-out syndrome."

• A photo shoot in Dresden is a sign of the editors' "desperate search for glamour."

• Editors are complaining that the magazine lacks "political relevance and journalistic seriousness."

• In a German version of the Bono/Africa VF stunt, German pop star Herbert Gronemeyer guest edited an issue of the magazine and "received little in return."

• Poschardt claims overblown expectations as a "result of the magazine's association with the legendary US edition of Vanity Fair."

• German Condé Nast publisher Bernd Runge dodged questions about the magazine's circulation.

Spiegel's verdict:

Germany's magazine business had been expecting a major, full-frontal attack led by Condé Nast — large and powerful internationally and publisher of not only the U.S. edition of Vanity Fair, virtually worshipped by many journalists, but also of the New Yorker and Vogue. But so far at least, there hasn't even been a faint tremor.

Hmm. Even though Der Spiegel is a direct competitor of Vanity Fair and has a vested interest in taking a swipe at the magazine, it looks like this (very expensive) magazine launch still has a long autobahn ahead of it.

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