Outrage grows against leading German EU candidate over Olaf Scholz’s ‘autistic’ remarks – POLITICO
Calling the remarks “just the tip of the iceberg”, SPD general secretary Kevin Kühnert said that Strack-Zimmermann, who presents himself as one of 96 German MEPs in the European Parliament at the top of the list of liberals, would ruin Germany’s reputation.
Leading SPD candidate Katarina Barley also criticized Strack-Zimmermann’s comments, saying they crossed “a red line in democratic competition.”
Barley is “pleased that the chancellor thinks before deciding and then acts cautiously,” she told a German newspaper, saying Scholz’s calmness is “a virtue” that allows him to lead the country through the crises.
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Strack-Zimmermann’s attack on Scholz came just days before Germans went to the polls for the European elections.
The German Autism Association told POLITICO that it had already contacted Strack-Zimmermann to respond to the comments, which many citizens called discriminatory.
“We are regularly confronted with the use of autism as an adjective in a derogatory sense in public, in politics, in business, in the media and in culture,” said the association’s spokesperson. “We write directly to the person concerned, but the exchange is not made public.”
Politico
