Sarrazin Quits Bundesbank After Muslim Comments Spark Outrage

[mike r]

Source: Bloomberg

Bundesbank board member Thilo Sarrazin resigned after his comments on Jews and Muslims sparked political outrage and condemnation from Chancellor Angela Merkel. “The board of the Bundesbank and board member Thilo Sarrazin are aware of their responsibility regarding the institution of the German Bundesbank,” the central bank said in an e-mailed statement late yesterday in Frankfurt. “The parties involved will end their working relationship at the end of this month” by mutual agreement.

The announcement ends a controversy that dragged the independent Bundesbank into the political sphere, forcing it for the first time to ask the country’s president to fire a member of its board. Sarrazin, 65, told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper in an interview published Aug. 29 that “Jews share a particular gene” and Muslims have more difficulty assimilating into society than other immigrants.

German President Christian Wulff accepted Sarrazin’s resignation and “welcomed” his decision, a spokesman said. A spokeswoman for Merkel’s government declined to comment.

In his book “Germany Abolishes Itself,” which was released last week and this week reached the top of Der Spiegel magazine’s nonfiction bestseller list, Sarrazin argues that poorly educated immigrants are making Germany “dumber.” Merkel described the remarks as “completely unacceptable.”

Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-09-09/sarrazin-quits-bundesbank-after-muslim-comments-spark-outrage.html