Chancellor Angela Merkel says Germany has to be more vigilant when it comes to nationalist movements across Europe because of the country’s Nazi past.
Merkel, who was interviewed by CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in Berlin, said in excerpts released Tuesday that Germany has to face up to populists who are finding mainstream support and recount “what history has brought.”
Referring to populist parties across the continent that were boosted by European Parliament elections on the weekend that, Merkel said, “in Germany, obviously, they always have to be seen in a certain context, in the context of our past, which means we have to be that much more vigilant than others.”
European Union leaders are set for a night of haggling on Tuesday over who should lead the 28-nation bloc’s key institutions for the next five years after weekend elections shook up Europe’s political landscape.
Presidents and Prime Ministers will meet informally over an evening meal to choose who should take over as head of the EU’s powerful executive branch, the European Commission, currently led by Jean-Claude Juncker.
Sunday’s elections have redrawn the EU’s political map. Mainstream center-right and center-left groups that long held power lost seats in the European Parliament. Many voters, concerned about climate change, migration or security turned instead to the Greens, the pro-business ALDE group or far-right parties.
It’s unclear what workable majority will emerge in the house.