Gregor Gysi, a prominent Left Party politician, called the remark “completely off the mark and wrong.” Speaking to Spiegel, he said the CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), belong to the democratic spectrum of society. He warned that such language trivializes fascism, something a leftist must not do.
Eva von Angern, the Left Party’s top candidate in Saxony-Anhalt, said she told Pantisano she considers the statement indefensible. She described it as a completely misguided view of the CDU that relativizes history and is therefore dangerous. Other party members also voiced disapproval: Max Schneller from the Saalekreis district called it “blatant nonsense” that harms the state branches.
Pantisano has since apologized. Von Angern hopes the CDU will accept this apology. She emphasized that the CDU is a democratic party in which many democrats are active, even if they often take a different path.
Source: www.spiegel.de
