GERMANY - Angela Merkel is facing a nightmare scenario after a leading German MP said Berlin needs to hold an EU Referendum. Sahra Wagenknecht called for Germany to let the people have their say on whether they want to sever ties with Brussels.
The deputy vice president of Die Linke, the Bundestag's third main party, said it would be "arrogant" to not trust the electorate with the decision. Currently, Germany's constitution does not allow national referendums to take place, except for special exceptions. She said: "You shouldn't arrogantly believe that people aren't capable of forming their own opinion."
"Many British people might have been lied to during the referendum campaign, but this was also a risk during elections. If we invalidate all elections in Europe in which the government had previously spoken of doing the opposite, of what they are doing afterwards, then we would have as good as no government left." The left-wing politician has already campaigned for referendums for individual EU contracts and the controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
The German Chancellor has come under increasing pressure to hold an EU Referendum ever since Britain voted to leave the bloc two weeks ago. But this is the first time anybody from the left has called for the vote. Far right figures in the Alternative for Germany party promised to call their own vote if they clutch power in the country's general election in autumn next year. A party spokesman branded Brussels a "bureaucracy monster", before adding: "Next year the AfD will enter the German parliament and Dexit will be top on our agenda".