Polish member of EU parliament compares Merkel to Hitler
Far-right lawmaker: Like Hitler, Merkel too seeks to create a German super-state in Europe.
By ReutersA Polish far-right member of the European Parliament compared German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Adolf Hitler in comments published Wednesday, which could further sour Polish-German relations.
Maciej Giertych, whose League of Polish Families is a junior partner in Poland's ruling coalition, accused Merkel of trying to dominate the European Union. He has a reputation for causing offence and recently faced accusations of anti-Semitism.
"Hitler also wanted to create a super-state. Angela Merkel is acting in the same way, but she is more sly," Giertych said in the interview with Zycie Warszawy daily.
"She doesn't use the argument of force. She pretends to make concessions, but in reality she makes sure that Germany has the strongest position."
Relations between Poland and Germany are at their worst in years after talks on a new EU treaty last month, when Poland invoked its suffering under Nazi occupation during World War Two to push for a bigger share of voting rights.
Poland's ruling twins, President Lech and Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, eventually agreed to the treaty under heavy pressure from EU heavyweights, but Giertych's party is fighting to stop it from being ratified.
The European Parliament has singled out the party for being behind the rise of xenophobia and racism in Poland. Giertych himself was reprimanded by the head of the parliament for publishing a booklet widely criticized as anti-Semitic.
Giertych is the father of Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Roman Giertych who has himself compared Merkel's negotiating tactics at the EU summit with the commands of Nazi soldiers.
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel. (AP Archives) |
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It should be remembered that Maciej Giertych does not even represent the current government, but merely a very small part of it. And even said government does not speak for the Polish people (due to the very low voter turnout at the last election, it represents merely about 25% of the electorate.) I know that many Poles are opposed to politicians like Giertych and disapprove of the discrimination against religious minorities, homosexuals and others that many in the current government parties advocate.
Jews keep reminding the world of the Holocaust, Blacks in America keep reminding us of the injustice of slavery which ended @150 years ago. Poles have a right to be angry and bitter as well for the enormous damage inflicted on it in WWII by the Germans. This topic will not go away as long as the WWII generation still lives. And let's not forget the 45 years of Soviet occupation. Several generations were affected and basically wasted their lives.
Maciej Giertych is a pathetic, senile morron, but what you wrote is at about the same level of bigotry and racism.
Judge says: Everybody knows that Germany will never again fight a real war, even the clowns in Poland are informed, seemingly ... what a shame! They don't need to they have won already, haven't they?
How can we apologize for not allowing Poland to play a more dominant Role in the EU !? If any Government of the leading EU Nations would have involved their Residents in taking this decision; Poland would be a member of the EU at around 2049. Just say THANK YOU and be quiet OK.
Everybody knows that Germany will never again fight a real war, even the clowns in Poland are informed, seemingly ... what a shame!
in Europe. She is truly a good liberal leader, and I say so as a Jew and an Israeli.
Everybody knows that Germany will never again fight a real war, even the clowns in Poland are informed, seemingly ... what a shame!