One of Renew’s lead candidates for the EU elections has publicly apologised to all people with autism after comparing them to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Free Democratic Party Bundestag MP Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann — or “MASZ” as Eurobubble journalists like to call her — lashed out at the German leader on May 29 for having what she termed “autistic traits”, such as being unable to effectively communicate.
She has now issued a public apology for the statement, saying she deeply regretted comparing people on the autistic spectrum to the left-wing politician.
“I am very sorry that I hurt people with autism with my thoughtless comparison and I apologise to everyone affected,” she said.
“As someone who has been committed to children, young people and people with special needs for many years, who can rightly expect sensitivity from society, I very much regret having overshot the mark here.”
The Renew spitzenkandidat (lead candidate) had attacked Scholz over what she said was his impersonal style of ruling, accusing him of being unable to communicate effectively with the general public.
“After three years, I have noticed that he has almost autistic traits, both in terms of his social contacts in politics and his inability to explain his actions to the people,” Strack-Zimmermann had said.
She then went on to lambast Scholz as being a “complete know-it-all” who had inherited former chancellor Angela Merkel’s cautiousness about making public statements.
Liberal lawmakers in Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party have been warned they must work with their Dutch colleagues who have joined the Netherlands' new populist coalition or leave the RENEW parliamentary group. https://t.co/Ktb7R7nP5O
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) May 22, 2024
