German state premier criticized for remarks about Romanians

Juergen RuettgersDusseldorf  - A German state premier, Juergen Ruettgers, was criticized Friday for disparaging people in Romania during a speech in praise of the workers in his own state, North Rhine Westphalia.

In remarks on August 26 which previously had gone unnoticed, Ruettgers said, "And unlike the workers in the Ruhr, those in Romania don't show up at seven in the morning for the first shift and stay until they have finished.

"They come and go when they feel like it, and they don't know what they're doing," he said during an election campaign speech in Duisburg.

The Ruhr valley and surrounding areas are home to much of the state's heavy industry.

The region is still smarting after Finnish mobile phone manufacturers closed a plant in the Ruhr area and opened a replacement factory in Romania.

Hendrik Wuest, general secretary of Ruettgers's Christian Democratic Union, said the premier's remarks were merely a rhetorical way of praising German workers, based on reports that Nokia's relocation had not paid off.

But the opposition Social Democrats accused the premier of "another racist blunder." Party general secretary Michael Groschek said the remark was similar to the "Children Instead of Indians" campaign Ruettgers devised for a state election in 2000.

The 2000 campaign, suggesting German teenagers should be trained to do jobs instead of giving them to immigrants, was perceived as a slur against India. Ruettgers has a reputation as a populist with strong appeal among working-class German voters.

Reiner Priggen, a senior Green, called for Ruettgers to apologize. The Turkish Association in Berlin also criticized the premier.

"Politicians ought to be ... striving for greater acceptance for the different ethnic communities," the association said.  dpa