Erdogan's Nazi swipe at Germany's Merkel draws criticism

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, and the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, right, attend the presentation of a robot serving sushi during a walkabout at the IT trade fair CeBIT in Hanover, Germany, Monday, March 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer) (The Associated Press)

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks about the upcoming 16 April referendum during a meeting with his supporters in Istanbul, late Sunday, March 19, 2017. Opposition figures in Turkey say they have faced threats, violence, arbitrary detentions, a lack of TV airtime and even sabotage in the campaign for a referendum on expanding the president's powers.(Kayhan Ozer/Presidential Press Service, Pool Photo via AP) (The Associated Press)

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a meeting with his supporters in Istanbul, Sunday, March 19, 2017. Opposition figures in Turkey say they have faced threats, violence, arbitrary detentions, a lack of TV airtime and even sabotage in the campaign for a referendum on expanding the president's powers. The complaints come even as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself has slammed European countries for not letting his ministers campaign on their soil for the April 16 vote on giving his office more power.(Basin Bulbul/Presidential Press Service, Pool Photo via AP) (The Associated Press)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is drawing criticism from Germany and elsewhere in Europe for accusing Chancellor Angela Merkel of "committing Nazi practices."

Sunday's accusation was the latest in a string of Turkish comments drawing Nazi parallels with present-day Germany and the Netherlands in a dispute over restrictions on Turkish officials campaigning there in a referendum campaign.

Peter Tauber, the general secretary of Merkel's conservative party, told N24 television Monday that "this is real effrontery toward our chancellor." However, he added that "we can allow ourselves to be outraged, stamp our feet and perhaps fight back — but the chancellor has to safeguard our country's interests."

The European Parliament's president, Antonio Tajani, wrote on Twitter: "An unacceptable attack by @RT_Erdogan on a democratic country that guarantees all fundamental rights."