Save Romania Union (USR) leader Dominic Fritz called on Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-chair Alice Weidel to apologise for remarks claiming that an increasing number of migrants from Romania are abusing Germany's social welfare system.
The USR leader sent Weidel a message in German, on Instagram, in which he criticised her statements, saying that she was insulting, "without the slightest embarrassment", the EU's sixth-largest nation.
"Dear Alice Weidel, last week you wrote that migrants from Romania are plundering the German welfare system. And, together with the AfD, you are promising a radical change in migration policy. I assume this means you want to send Romanians back home. I am German, I emigrated to Romania seven years ago, so I am, so to speak, a Romanian with a migrant background, and the people of Timisoara have elected me their mayor twice. I am now, just like you, the leader of a major opposition party, so I know a thing or two about Germany, Romania and how politics should be done," Dominic Fritz said, according to a USR press release.
He stressed that hundreds of thousands of Romanians work in Germany under "perfectly normal conditions" and contribute to the social security system by paying taxes and social contributions.
"Thousands of Romanian doctors work tirelessly in German hospitals, and who do you think paid for their training? Exactly, Romanian taxpayers. And when your voters, Ms Weidel, need care, there is a very good chance that they will be looked after by a woman from Romania. And this woman's children usually remain in Romania, with their grandparents, who provide unpaid care, so that the person looking after your parents can be available around the clock. Who is exploiting whom here, dear Ms Weidel?" the USR leader added.
Referring to Alice Weidel's claim that social welfare spending in the city of Magdeburg had increased twentyfold, to three million euros a year, Dominic Fritz argued that this rise should be viewed in the context of the fact that the number of Romanians in the city had also increased twentyfold over the past ten years, with the vast majority of them in employment.
"Are there abuses? Of course, just as there are abuses in every social welfare system, and we can discuss at any time the loopholes in the law that need to be closed. But what you want, dear Ms Weidel of the AfD, is to enjoy the benefits that freedom of movement within the EU brings to Germany without paying the price of solidarity for it. And that, dear Ms Weidel, is the definition of parasitism," he added.
Dominic Fritz accused the AfD leader of insulting Romanians and resorting to rhetoric designed to stir up hostility towards migrants, and called on her to apologise.
"Any Romanian who works ten-hour shifts in a German slaughterhouse so that you can eat a cheap schnitzel on Sundays has more decency than you do. And while we are on the subject: two weeks ago, you repeated Putin's false narrative that there are nuclear-capable missiles in Romania, stationed near the border and aimed at Russia. The truth is that there is a defensive shield here, with which Romania protects NATO's eastern flank. And so we, whom you accuse of plundering, are here protecting your backside, too. You're welcome! Today is a good day to apologise, Ms Weidel," Dominic Fritz wrote.
Fritz also criticised the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), reproaching it for failing to react to the AfD leader's remarks.
"These are your patriotic friends in Germany, whom you admire and fawn over. They insult Romanians living abroad, and you keep quiet. I will not stay silent, because my love for Romania and Europe is genuine," Dominic Fritz added.
