Germany’s Fischer begins testimony in visa affair

BERLIN - German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer took responsibility on Monday for lax visa policies that allowed waves of criminals into Germany, as he began testifying in a scandal that has hurt the government and his own standing.

The normally combative Fischer struck a humble but forceful tone as he spoke on live television before a special parliamentary commission set up to investigate the politically charged visa affair.

"I am responsible," said Fischer, wearing a sober black pinstriped suit and trademark wire-rimmed glasses. "I am the last one that is free of mistakes."

Fischer spoke as a new poll showed his approval ratings had sunk to their lowest level since Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats (SPD) took power in 1998 in a coalition with Fischer's Greens.

Fischer is accused of overseeing a loosening of entry rules at German consulates, leading to the issue of thousands of visas to gangs trafficking in people and other criminals, mainly from Ukraine, between 2000 and 2002.

He is also said to have ignored warnings from law enforcement officials and his own diplomats about the consequences of the relaxed policies.

The conservative opposition has seized on the visa affair, which has touched a nerve with Germans fearful that low-paid eastern European immigrants are snatching up their jobs.

Until recently Germany's most popular politician, Fischer is a close ally of Schroeder and is seen as crucial to the chancellor's hopes for winning a third term next year.

"The Foreign Minister is not just a global politician that speaks out on subjects like peace and war," Hans-Peter Uhl, the conservative chairman of the parliamentary commission told German radio ahead of Fischer's testimony on Monday.

"He is also the head of the Foreign Ministry and has to control what happens in his ministry."

Fischer, a feisty former street-fighter whose unlikely rise from agitator to vice-chancellor captivated the country, has resisted calls for his resignation and a minority of Germans believe he should go.

But his handling of the scandal has hurt support for his Greens party and led to criticism by members of Schroeder's Social Democrats.

A poor performance by the SPD and Greens in a crucial election next month in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) - the only German state still run by a coalition of the two parties - could increase the pressure on Fischer within the ruling coalition and threaten the future of "Red-Green" cooperation.

- REUTERS