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Austrian leader calls on racism row MEP to quit Austria poll blow for racism row MEP Andreas Moelzer
(about 11 hours later)
Austrian President Heinz Fischer has said that a far right candidate should withdraw from European elections because of racist comments. An Austrian far-right politician embroiled in a racism row says he will no longer be his party's top candidate in next month's European elections.
Andreas Moelzer called the European Union a "conglomerate of Negroes" and said it made Hitler's Third Reich look "informal and liberal". Andreas Moelzer of the Freedom Party (FPOe) made the move after Austria's President Heinz Fischer urged him to pull out of the election altogether.
Mr Moelzer, the lead candidate for the far-right Freedom Party (FPO), has apologised for his comments. But Mr Moelzer, a serving MEP, has not withdrawn from the FPOe candidate list.
Opinion polls put national support for the anti-immigrant party at around 20%. He has been widely criticised for calling the 28-nation European Union a "conglomerate of Negroes".
Mr Moelzer is serving as an MEP and was intending to stand for re-election on 22 May. Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann on Tuesday added his voice to those calling for Mr Moelzer to quit the election.
"Such a person should not represent Austria in the European Parliament," he said.
Mr Moelzer had also said the EU made Hitler's Third Reich look "informal and liberal". He has apologised for his comments.
Anti-establishment
Opinion polls put national support for the anti-immigrant FPOe at around 20%.
Explaining his decision, Mr Moelzer said "it is the evident loss of confidence in my party which is prompting me to do this".
He insisted that he was not responding to "the continuous pressure from the country's entire politically correct media or the hypocritical indignation of the republic's political establishment", the Austrian broadcaster ORF reported.
He also accused the "far left" of organising a "witch-hunt" against him.
'Out of place''Out of place'
Mr Fischer called on the far-right candidate to step down in an interview with an Austrian newspaper. Earlier, President Fischer called on him to step down, in an interview with an Austrian newspaper.
The president said Mr Moelzer's views were "out of place in the European Parliament". He said Mr Moelzer's views were "out of place in the European Parliament".
The Freedom Party's leader, Heinz-Christian Strache, has also distanced himself from Mr Moelzer. The Freedom Party's leader, Heinz-Christian Strache, has also distanced himself from Mr Moelzer. The two politicians had a meeting on Monday evening.
Mr Strache said that there would be a "personal talk" between him and Mr Moelzer, and that the party leadership would convene to discuss his future. "Everybody in the FPOe community has to pay particular attention to the vocabulary they use," Mr Strache said.
"Everybody in the FPO community has to pay particular attention to the vocabulary they use," Mr Strache said. In recent months the Eurosceptic Freedom Party has outscored Austria's governing Social Democrats and Conservatives in opinion polls, the BBC's Bethany Bell reports from the capital, Vienna.
In recent months the Eurosceptic Freedom Party has outscored Austria's governing Social Democrats and Conservatives in opinion polls, the BBC's Bethany Bell in the capital, Vienna, reports.
It is now considered the main opposition party in Austria.It is now considered the main opposition party in Austria.
Last week the FPO joined with France's National Front, Belgium's Vlaams Belang and the Sweden Democrats to form a new coalition, the Young European Alliance for Hope. Last week the FPOe joined with France's National Front, Belgium's Vlaams Belang and the Sweden Democrats to form a new coalition, the Young European Alliance for Hope (YEAH).
But Mr Moelzer's remarks have attracted criticism from some of the European populist parties.But Mr Moelzer's remarks have attracted criticism from some of the European populist parties.