Ruettgers' remarks

The remarks were made during a speech in the western town of Muenster on Aug. 28, which was filmed and posted on video sharing website YouTube by rivals the Social Democratic Party (SPD) on Saturday.

The video comments resembled those made two days earlier in Duisburg, which forced an apology from Ruettgers on Friday, Aug. 4. The SPD, which is the main opponent to Ruettgers’ Christian Democrats (CDU), have argued that the remarks were not just spoken in the heat of a campaign speech, but form part of Ruettger's election strategy.

Commenting on the removal of a Nokia mobile phone factory from Bochum in North Rhine-Westphalia to Romania, Ruettgers said: "In Romania, the workers don't come at seven in the morning like they do here in North Rhine-Westphalia, and they don't stay until the factory closes. ... They come when they want and go when they want, and that's why they don't get any mobile phones built."

Social Democrats leader and chancellor candidate Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the comments would damage Germany's image abroad and were a "grist in the mill of extremists."

Renate Kuenast, parliamentary head of the Green party, labeled the remarks "pure racism" and called on German Chancellor Angela Merkel to "draw the consequences swiftly and unambiguously."

Gregor Gysi, co-head of The Left Party, said the comments were "racist … dangerous and pathetic."

Premature apology

Ruettgers had apologized for the Duisburg speech on Friday evening, saying: "I did not intend to offend anyone, and if I did, I am sorry." He explained the remarks by referring to the redundancies suffered by some of his audience.

"I was standing in front of North Rhine-Westphalian workers, whose amazing efforts are globally acknowledged, and who have lost their jobs because of bad decisions taken at company headquarters," he said.

Apparently attempting to demonstrate his determination to bring Chinese money to Duisburg, Ruettgers is also heard on the video saying: "And if we have to, we'll meet some Chinese people in the town hall. And if they still don't want to invest, we'll strangle them until they find Duisburg beautiful." Ruettgers intends to travel to China in November in order to seek investors.

The state premier has a history of insulting non-German workers in his speeches. He caused a media storm in 2000 for campaigning in his state election under the slogan "Kinder statt Inder" (Children not Indians), in protest at the SPD government's attempts to attract skilled workers from southern Asia to work in Germany's technology sector.

The leader of the local CDU Hendrik Wuest defended Ruettgers, saying: "The video unduly shortens the speech and rips Ruettgers' remarks completely out of their context."

North Rhine-Westphalia Integration Minister Armin Laschet said it was "absurd" to accuse Ruettgers of hostility towards foreigners, and that the German state had done a lot to help foreigners integrate.

dfm/bk/dpa/AFP

Editor: Rick Demarest