Merkel: Sarrazin has offended whole segments of our society

Sep 3, 2010, 10:22 GMT

Berlin - German Chancellor Angela Merkel sought Friday to limit the damage she says has been wrought by sacked central banker Thilo Sarrazin, after his comments on race and immigration this week.

In an interview with the Turkish daily Hurriyet, Merkel said that she could 'not accept' Sarrazin's view that there were too many immigrants, particularly of Muslim backgrounds, in Germany and that their presence was damaging the country.

Sarrazin was effectively sacked by the Bundesbank on Thursday, when the central bank asked German President Christian Wulff to remove him. His book, Germany Abolishes Itself, was launched on Monday and has caused a week of public furore.

'Integration is one of the most important issues of our time,' Merkel said, adding that there were 16 million people in Germany, or nearly 20 per cent of the population, with 'migration backgrounds.'

'Integration has to be discussed in relation to the facts, not by stirring up antipathy and resentment,' she said.

Sarrazin charged that specifically Muslim migrants had low educational attainment, were disproportionately dependent on welfare and more likely to commit crimes.

Around 4 million Muslims live in Germany, the majority of whom are of Turkish ethnicity. Amid a booming economy, the former West Germany encouraged waves of immigration from Turkey beginning in the 1960s to boost the domestic labour force.

Sarrazin's views have been widely condemned by the political establishment, and his own centre-left Social Democrats have moved to evict him from the party. He has received backing in opinion polls of the general public and from some right-wing commentators.

Merkel went on to say that there was more work to do on the subject of immigration in Germany.

Immigrants, she said, 'must be prepared to live a life in our society, and without exception according to our laws.'

Germans needed 'tolerance, social engagement and the readiness to welcome and respect people that have every right to live among us,' she added.