Schroeder axes Italy holiday after official slurs German visitors
WED Jul 09 2003 10:20:23 ET
Berlin (dpa) - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Wednesday cancelled a planned vacation to Italy after an Italian government official refused to apologize for referring to German tourists as ``stereotyped blondes with a hyper-nationalist pride.''
``The family ... will spend its vacation at home in Hanover,'' said Schroeder's chief spokesman, Bela Anda.
Anda said this was to ensure a proper holiday without disruptions. Schroeder's move came after the official in Rome who made the remarks, under-secretary Stefano Stefani who is responsible for tourism, rejected making any apology for the comments.
About 10 million German tourists visit Italy each year. Earlier, German Interior Minister Otto Schily - a heavyweight in Schroeder's cabinet - demanded Stefani quit.
Economics and Labour superminister Wolfgang Clement also said Stefani should resign, saying his comments could not be beat for sheer ``idiocy.''
Chancellor Schroeder had been due to begin his vacation in central Italy on July 20.
The row between Rome and Berlin follows bitter words by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who last week had likened a German member of the European parliament to a Nazi concentration camp functionary.
Italy took over the rotating presidency of the European Union (E.U.) on July 1 and there are fears that the acrimony will hamper efforts to hammer out a new constitution by the end of the year.
Stefani published his bombshell commentary last Friday in the Northern League's official newspaper, La Padania.
In it he branded Germans as people ``that have been indoctrinated to feel first in the class'', who ``noisily invade our beaches'' and who have grown up engaging in ``belching competitions after drinking enormous amounts of beer and stuffing themselves with fried kartoffeln (chips).''
After Berlusconi told a German MP that he would be good for a part in a film about Nazi's as a camp Commandant, another Italian minister calls German tourists. Nothing like building relations with your neighbors.!