海角大神

Most European leaders have viewed Donald Trump鈥檚 presidential bid with varying degrees of disdain. The word 鈥淭rumpifed鈥� has made it into European lexicon - and it is not meant kindly. French President Fran莽ois Hollande went so far as to say Mr. Trump鈥檚 antics made him want to 鈥渞etch.鈥�

But now the European Union is dealing with its own loose cannon, in the form of G眉nther Oettinger, a German Eurocrat who has been slated for promotion as EU budget commissioner, a powerful position at the heart of Brussels.

Last week he kicked up a firestorm for labeling the Chinese 鈥渟litty-eyed鈥� in a speech to German business leaders in Hamburg. The EU digital economy commissioner also took a swipe at gender quotas and joked that soon gay marriage would be 鈥渙bligatory鈥� in Germany.

Only Thursday, nearly a week later, has he issued an apology: 鈥淚n my speech I had chosen some examples (and once again my apologies if my words caused negative feelings).鈥�

Rights groups and opposition politicians have pilloried Oettinger for a career marked by unpredictability and lack of political correctness, but he has not been reprimanded by top European or German leaders. That not only threatens the credibility of the EU, which prides itself on inclusiveness. But it is also seen by some, especially in Germany, as a worrisome erosion of norms and standards that has gone increasingly mainstream on both sides of the Atlantic.

Jan Philipp Albrecht, European parliamentarian for the Greens in Germany, took to Twitter to sum up the stakes. 鈥淭his is the moment where EU leaders can prove that they won't let someone like Trump become or stay top decisionmaker,鈥� he wrote.

'Simply not the way you talk'

Neither in terms of power nor provocation does Mr. Oettinger match Trump. And of course Europe sees much intolerance in its midst, especially in the wake of terrorism attacks and the migrant crisis. This week Geert Wilders, the far-right leader in the Netherlands, was put on trial on hate speech charges for leading a chant calling for fewer Moroccans.聽The leader of Poland鈥檚 Law & Justice (PiS) party, Jaros艂aw Kaczy艅ski, said that migrants bring 鈥渁ll sorts of parasites and protozoa鈥� to Europe. The leader of Slovakia said he would accept 海角大神 refugees but not Muslim ones.

Still, this rhetoric has mostly been limited to the fringes. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls warned against the 鈥淭rumpification of the mind鈥� after the terrorist attack in Nice. Birgitta Jonsdottir, of Iceland鈥檚 Pirate Party, told Democracy Now this week: 鈥淲e have now a new saying called being 鈥楾rumpified鈥� when it comes to bizarre things in the election campaign.鈥澛�

The EU considers itself a beacon of political correctness 鈥� a characteristic that is often mocked. English style guidelines from the European Commission updated last month, for example, emphasize a preference for 鈥済ender-neutral language.鈥� 鈥淲e now write firefighters instead of firemen and police officer instead of policeman or policewoman,鈥� it advises.

In that spirit, many have pushed back against Oettinger. The French group SOS Racisme issued a statement that said 鈥渞acism, homophobia, and sexism cannot have any place in official discourse of the European Union.鈥�

The group also urged EU Commissioner Jean-Claude Juncker and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to take measures against Oettinger. That they haven鈥檛 worries Sabine Witte, who works as a kindergarten teacher in Berlin and says taboos of post-war Germany are no longer holding.

鈥淚t is like a slightly open door. Someone pushes it a little more every day, while nobody else tries to hold it or close it. Soon the door will be wide open,鈥� she says. 鈥淭his is simply not the way you talk.鈥�

Dormant feelings

Korbinian Frenzel, a senior editor at Deutschlandradio Kultur who runs his own current affairs radio show, says that Oettinger 鈥� who has long been prone to gaffes, which Politico in Europe listed in a post this week 鈥� does not represent mainstream thinking. Still, as hate rhetoric from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) finds more expression and popular support, dormant feelings can surface.

鈥淭here is a growing, yet small, opposition that fights [mainstream political correctness],鈥� he says. 鈥淚ts presence is increasingly giving more representation to something that, I fear, has been always there.鈥�

Oettinger, who had originally backed away from an apology, including telling a EurActiv reporter Wednesday that there is 鈥渘o scandal,鈥� issued a one-page statement of apology Thursday. But so far he hasn鈥檛 faced any repercussions. Bombarded by journalists at a daily briefing, EU executive spokesperson Margaritis Schinas said he would "refrain from any characterization or value judgment that one can make on the explanations鈥� for his speech. Chancellor Merkel鈥檚 spokesperson, Steffen Seibert, said Oettinger had her 鈥渇ull confidence.鈥�

Gero Neugebauer, a political scientist of the Free University Berlin, dismisses Oettinger as 鈥渙ld-fashioned and out of time,鈥� and not a worrying sign of the 鈥淭rumpification鈥� of German society. In fact, the longtime observer of Merkel says her statement of 鈥渇ull confidence鈥� might signal a demotion on its way.

鈥淲hen Merkel says she trusts someone, this usually means she is ready to get rid of them,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 would not be surprised if she now tried to prevent him from becoming the EU budget commissioner.鈥�