VENEZUELA'S president, Hugo Chavez, has suggested that the political party of the German chancellor shared the ideals of Adolf Hitler.
The comment came as he accused Angela Merkel of urging some Latin American leaders to avoid ties with his government.
Mr Chavez, who has verbally attacked the US president, George Bush, and the former Spanish prime minister, José Maria Aznar, warn
ed of a possible confrontation with the chancellor at a summit this week in Peru.
He attacked Mrs Merkel for belonging to the conservative Christian Democratic Union party, "the same right wing that supported Hitler and fascism".
Mr Chavez was on the verge of launching more insults, but suddenly stopped short. "Ms Chancellor, you can go to…" he said on his weekly television programme, before pausing. Then he added: "Because you are a lady, I won't say more."
He said a possible confrontation with Mrs Merkel loomed at the summit, and joked that she might respond by telling him to "shut up" – as Spain's King Juan Carlos did during a summit last year.
Mr Chavez said Mrs Merkel recently urged some Latin American leaders to avoid forging ties with Venezuela's government.
Mrs Merkel's spokesman, Thomas Steg, responded to Chavez's comments by reiterating her remarks on Venezuela in a recent interview.
The chancellor had said no single country could harm relations between the EU and Latin America, Mr Steg said.
He quoted her as saying: "President Chavez does not speak for Latin America."
The full article contains 251 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
