The Chancellor’s Christian Democrats (CDU), which had deliberately ignored the small Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD) so far in the campaign, deployed one of their most respected figures to rip into the new party.
Wolfgang Schaeuble, the veteran finance minister, said anti-European Union sentiment threatened the region’s progress.
“These people claim: 'We’d be better off economically without the euro’,” he told the weekly Die Zeit. “That claim is totally wrong, has no credibility and is extremely dangerous for our prosperity.”
Referring to Ukip, whose rise has been well noted in Germany, he continued: “In the UK there is a political movement with a high degree of euroscepticism. In France, many fear that at the European elections the National Front will be the strongest party. I am thankful that we in Germany, perhaps because of our history, are a little cautious of demagoguery and right-leaning ideas.”
Mr Schäuble added: “I don’t have any time for these people who seem to be trapped in the past. Anyone who starts, like the AfD, with stoking fears towards Europe, quickly moves towards stoking fears of immigrants.” » | Jeevan Vasagar in Berlin | Wednesday, September 18, 2013
