Thank you very much Mr. President, Mr. Vice Presidents.
Mr. Bullmann, I would remind you, when you talk about right wing extremists you have
to remember that Nazis were national socialists, it's a strain of socialism.
So lets not pretend, it's a left wing ideology they want the same thing as you.
Let's be quite clear.
So, Mr. President despite all that.. you don't like the truth do you?
(Timmermans): You know who they killed first? Socialists!
Come on, it's national Socialism...
Alright, lets...Thank you.
A lot happened...
(Timmermans): The ones that were killed were socialists you idiot!
You idiot? I'm saying, I'm telling you it's a left wing ideology.
Don't pretend.
[Shouting]
Thank you.
Yes, thank you Mr. President.
First of all, Mr Kamall, I want to tell you something.
I think it was not very wise what you did.
And that you have to apologise in fact.
Because pointing, talking about Nazis as socialists and pointing the finger at the socialist group
is an insult for all those social democrats who fought against nazism.
[Clapping]
Who died in concentration camps and I think it should be the best step from your side.
Please, Mr Bullmann.
Mr. President, I want to give a point of order.
In his speech, Mr. Kamall said that national socialists, fascists, were in fact socialists.
He compared the fascists, who caused so much pain in the world, to my political group.
And I find that a unspeakable faux pas.
I want to remind that it was the social democrats who voted resolutely against the enabling act
that led to Hitler taking power, as the only ones to do so.
Others at that time were already in concentration camps.
There are hundrds of thousands of social democrats and democrats who fell victim to the Nazis
because they walked tall and defended democracy and human rights.
I find that such an utter insult from Mr. Kamall and that such a faux pas is not proper
in this European house and I would ask you Mr. President, for Mr. Kamall to apologise immediately.
[Clapping]
Mr. Kamall, please.
Mr. Bullmann, let me explain and then I will move on.
Which is, I get tired of people saying that nazism is a right wing ideology because actually...
We disagree on this, but what I would say I believe in the freedom of speech but if I have offended you
and I clearly have, I apologise unreservedly.
It was not my...I've apologised.
If I offend, if I do offend, clearly I have offended you, I apologise unreservedly
I do not believe in offending my political opponents or offending my friends so I apologise.
I hope you will accept that.
[Clapping]
I think that Mr. Kamall quite clearly did apologise, to Mr Bullmann and the socialists group.
Please let me speak first then you can speak.
Mr. Bullmann, has accepted, I believe, Mr Kamall's apology...hang on...
Mr Kamall doesn't know what he is talking about. Sorry.
No, Mr. Kamall has apologised.
It is not up to us to decide whether national
socialism is right wing or left wing.
What you don't understand,
it is not about our own personal relations here, it is about the fact that somebody is
putting social democracy in the same boat as fascism. That's what I mean.
So it is not if he is friendly to me or not, so I insist that he correct it.
Mr. Kamall has apologised and he said that he believes national socialism was not a right
wing ideology, nor part of socialism, nor right wing, it was a totalitarian ideology not from the right.
If you just let me just explain, I'm trying to come up with a solution here.
It was neither a left nor a right ideology, but was a totalitarian ideology.
if we are discussing if it was right or left wing we will never come to an end.
What's important is that he apologised.
Mr. President you are worsening the situation.
No one is, neither you nor Mr. Kamall, in the position to understand what a political
disgrace this is to put the social democrats close to the fascists in Europe.
I demand an explanation, it is not about my personal feelings, it is a historical mistake,
a demagogic trick of the right in this house which they are using to mask their inability
to deal with these political issues.
Now I understand what sort of mentality they have, and Mr. President you should not nail
your colours to his mast as you are not covering yourself in honour doing that.
I will bring this to an end, Mr Kamall apologised.
Nobody in this room, beginning with me, believes that national socialism has anything to do
with the history of the socialist party in Europe, neither in Germany nor in any other country.
This ideological and cultural debate is a different thing.
If Mr. Kamall apologised and explained, I think he was very clear, that he said he didn't
mean to cause any offence to anyone personally or to socialism.
That's my understanding at least.