Romanian deputy causes scandal after naming another MP "untermensch"

Miercuri, 28 august 2019, 18:52 English | Politics

A Romanian deputy of the governing Social Democratic Party (PSD) caused a scandal in the House on Wednesday as he called a fellow deputy "untermensch", a term used by Nazis to describe "non-Aryan" people. The statement caused the fury of another deputy of the national minorities group, who called the PSD MP "a shame for Romania and the Parliament".

In his statement, MP Nicolae Bacalbasa referred to Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, a rival of the PSD, who is an ethnic German.

Bacalbasa said during his speech, referring to Stelian Ion, a deputy of the opposition Save Romania Union (USR):

• "(...) I can't understand and support the boorishness of an individual who is an untermensch for me - considering that we have a German president - who speaks of shameful decisions after I and my colleages have voted. One cannot call the decisions of the Parliament shameful or not shameful. The decisions of the Parliament are the decisions of the Parliament (...)"

This sparked the reaction of another MP, Ovidiu Gant of the group representing ethnic minorities, who pointed out that Bacalbasa used a Nazi term and associated it with the President of Romania in a "unimaginable, miserable" move.