The leader of Austria’s Jewish community has appealed to an EU Parliament member to drop his re-election campaign after comparing the European Union to Nazi Germany.

Andreas Mözler, a candidate from Austria’s right-wing Freedom Party was quoted as saying the Third Reich did not have as many rules, regulations and bans and that it looked more “informal and liberal” than the EU during a gathering last month in Vienna.

Austrian Jewish leader Oskar Deutsche said the politician was unable to grasp the fact proponents of extreme-right thought shared responsibility for Nazi crimes.

Recent opinion polls show the Freedom Party is expected to do well in this May’s European Parliamentary elections. The prediction is consistent with other right-wing political parties across Europe who have also made gains recentlydue to disillusion among voters on issues including the economy and immigration.

(Source: JN1)