Das ist ein Interpretationsschritt zu weit. Vielleicht eher "... is praise enough"?

I agree with Holger. Intriguing proverb. In English we have "damned by faint praise". This is the converse: in effect, "praised by faint damnation".

Oops, the English expression is "damned WITH faint praise".

could something be done by adapting "no news is good news"?

@spinatwachtel --- Nö, das wird dem pseudoplump-subtilen schwäbischen Hyper-Undertatement nicht gerecht.

I personally think that "not nagging is praise enough" reflects it best, but "damned with faint praise" is definitely a keeper, too :-)

Thanks for all your replies and have a nice day!
Markus