Polish magazine pictures Merkel as Hitler 02/03/2007 00:00

Warsaw (dpa) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel is pictured as Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler with the caption "EU Fascism on the Offensive" on the cover of the latest edition of the Polish political fringe magazine Czas.

The marginal publication is a mouthpiece of the radical fringe Union of Real Politics (UPR) political party, staunchly opposed to the European Union, particularly to closer political integration of the 27-member bloc via the shelved constitutional treaty.

The UPR party has virtually no popular support in Poland and holds no parliamentary seats.

The provocative cover leads into an article slamming the EU by UPR leader Janusz Korwin-Mikke. Famous for his unorthodox opinions, bow- ties and playing bridge, he is considered Poland's most eccentric politician.

"The spectre of fascism or euro-socialism (as you prefer) is moving around Europe," writes Korwin-Mikke voicing his opposition to moves such as the proposed EU constitutional treaty designed to push ahead with European integration.

He likens the proposed closer political integration of the EU to the forced Sovietisation of Eastern Europe under Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin after World War II.

"It is not ruled out that the European Union will formally arise and the idea of the 'European nation' (as in the time of Stalin - and later - the "Soviet nation"). Some euro-crats already use this term!' Korwin-Mikke notes.

Germany currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union and German Chancellor Angela Merkel has made it her mission to revive work on the floundering European constitutional treaty.

Poland's conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government has welcomed Germany's push to get work on the EU-wide constitutional treaty back on track, but insists a new approach is necessary to guarantee equal rights and influence for all EU members.

For further information: http://www.nczas.com/

DPA

Subject: German news