UK anti-euro campaign is no joke say Germans
A UK campaign to keep sterling sparked a dispute on Tuesday, after it used a comedian playing Adolf Hitler to back its anti-euro message.
The German embassy in London voiced surprise at the appearance of British comedian Rik Mayall as Hitler in a "No" campaign ad is to be screened in cinemas from next week. The 90-second film was defended by the "No" campaign.
But a spokesman for the German embassy said it was "absurd and ludicrous" to equate the single currency with Hitler.
Dressed as the Nazi dictator and mimicking his salute, Mr Mayall declares: "Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Euro!"
"Anyone who doesn't laugh, I think, should get a life," said Kate Hoey, one of the advert's stars and Labour MP for Vauxhall. "This is going to reach people who, quite frankly, politicians aren't getting to." Britain in Europe, the pro-euro group, seized on the film, saying the anti-Europeans had given up on serious argument.
Lord Brittan, a former European commissioner, said: "This tasteless ad shows the underlying nastiness behind much of the 'No' campaign, as well as an element of desperation."
Mark Oaten, Liberal Democrat MP, added: "Joke or not, this will be offensive to many people whatever their view on the euro." A German embassy spokesman said: "To equate the euro with Hitler and European integration, to provoke the imagination that there is a ghost like Hitler at work, is absurd and ludicrous,"
Sir Bob Geldof, the Irish rock star best known for spearheading the 1980s Live Aid campaign for Africa, restaurateur Gordon Ramsey and comedian Harry Enfield are also among the celebrities and politicians who appear in the ad.
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