(JTA) — An Austrian Jewish leader called on a European Union Parliament member to withdraw his re-election bid after the candidate called Nazi Germany more liberal than the EU.
Andreas Moelzer, a candidate from the far-right Freedom Party, was quoted by Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper as saying that the Third Reich “certainly did not have as many rules and regulations, commandments and bans” as the European Union and looks more “informal and liberal” by comparison, according to Reuters.
The comments were made last month in Vienna but just came to light on Monday. On the same day, Austrian Jewish leader Oskar Deutsch said Moelzer should quit the race.
“Such people may not represent Austria in Europe, so Moelzer should draw the consequences and withdraw his candidacy,” Deutsch, the president of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Austria, said in a statement, Reuters reported.
Moelzer said in a statement that he condemned the Hitler regime and that he was not trying to minimize Nazi atrocities.
The election for the European Parliament is scheduled for May; the Freedom Party is expected to make a good showing.
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