Schaeuble ‘Ashamed’ at Bundesbanker’s Anti-Immigrant Comments

Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble distanced themselves from Bundesbank board member Thilo Sarrazin after he excoriated immigrants as a burden on German society.

Sarrazin’s comments in a recent book, in which he claimed that immigrants from Turkey, the Middle East and Africa are making Germany “dumber,” are “not helpful at all” and “can be hurtful for a lot people,” Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters today. Bundesbank President Axel Weber should consider taking action against Sarrazin, though his options are limited, Schaeuble said.