A former Tory Cabinet minister triggered a row today by calling Angela Merkel a “bossy German” whose warnings over Brexit will boost the Leave campaign.
Eurosceptic John Redwood also claimed Ms Merkel, who is widely seen as Europe’s most powerful politician, had “no sense of irony”. “Mrs Merkel’s intervention in the EU referendum debate was the one I wanted,” he wrote on his blog today. “There’s nothing like a bossy German telling us what to do to mobilise the Leave vote.”
The German Chancellor recently emphasised the importance of the single market, warning that countries outside the EU “will never get a really good result in negotiations”.
But former Welsh Secretary Mr Redwood argued: “She told us we will get a better deal by being in the room, meaning we have to be a member to be able to do things we want with the rest of the EU. She clearly has no sense of irony.”
His comments on Ms Merkel sparked an immediate backlash. Labour MP Paul Farrelly, chairman of the all-party parliamentary British-German group, said German business was a major investor in Britain, adding: “That relationship should not be put at risk by silly name-calling nor by voting Leave.”
Senior Tory backbench MP Mark Pritchard said: “She is a strong and successful female leader. In the modern age, that is not bossy.”
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