Final Word from Tuesday, May 28, 2002
When Vice Chairman Jürgen Möllemann of Germany's FDP party made disparaging remarks recently about Jews, he caused a scandal. Chancellor Gerhard Schröder said, for example, that anyone who wants to be part of the next government with his SPD party has the obligation to refrain from engaging in xenophobic or anti-Semitic political positioning. When Václav Klaus made xenophobic comments in Právo on Sat., none of his potential political partners said anything. Only Prague Mayor Jan Kasl, a member of Klaus' own party, spoke up. Kasl wrote us that under his leadership, Prague aims to be a self-confident European cultural metropolis in a multicultural, heterogeneous Europe. Prague is a friendly city, he said, and it's open to anyone of any nationality, race or religion who supports this aim and who has something to offer.