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BERLIN (AP) — A senior member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's party says "enlightened patriotism" should be part of Germany's national culture.
Thomas de Maiziere, Germany's interior minister, says Nazi-era nationalism and the hesitancy that followed "are all over now, especially for the younger generation." He is proposing ten principles for German identity amid a debate about the country's identity during a time of mass immigration.
Merkel's center-right Christian Democrats are hoping for a fourth election victory in the Sept. 24 national vote but face competition from the nationalist, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party.
A survey of 2,439 voters published Sunday by the weekly Bild am Sonntag found Merkel's party leading the polls with 36 percent support, ahead of the center-left Social Democrats which had 29 percent. The survey had a 3 percent error margin.
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