Germany's Merkel warns of populism's rise in Europe

By Umar Farooq

WASHINGTON (AA) - Germany must be more watchful for the rise of populist movements throughout Europe because of the country's Nazi history, Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Monday.

"There is work to be done here," she said in an interview with CNN.

Merkel noted the rise of anti-Semitism in Germany and condemned discrimination towards Jewish people, saying there was always "a certain number of anti-Semites amongst us."

"Unfortunately there is today not a single synagogue, not a single daycare for Jewish children, not a single school for Jewish children, that does not need to be guarded by German policemen," she said.

Anti-immigrant far-right parties and Greens increased their seats in the European Parliament (EP) on Monday, while central parties suffered significant decline in Sunday's elections.

In response to far-right gains, Merkel said this is "why we are for democracy, why we try to bring about solutions, why we always have to put ourselves in the other person’s shoes.

"We have to face up indeed to the specters of the past," she said.

Anti-Semitic and anti-foreigner incidents have been on the rise, according to government data.

Merkel has been leading Germany for the past 13 years, however, she said she would not run for chancellor again. Her term is set to end in 2021.