On November 3rd, the world is looking excitedly to Washington on the 2020 US election: How will Germany react to the result and the consequences?
The 59th US presidential election * will take place on November 3rd.
Germany will also have to react to the election victory of Joe Biden * or Donald Trump *.
The reaction of
Angela Merkel (CDU)
could, depending on the result, be very different than four years ago.
Update from November 5, 9:04 p.m.:
In the meantime, Federal Foreign Minister
Heiko Maas
(SPD) has spoken again about the US election
(see update from November 4, 5:56 p.m.)
.
"What is happening in America does not quite correspond to the democratic culture that we know from the USA," Maas writes on Twitter.
It is important that the result is accepted by everyone.
"It's easy to be a winner, but sometimes it's really hard to be a loser."
Update from November 5, 11.35 a.m.:
The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee
Norbert Röttgen
assumes a narrow victory for
Joe Biden
.
He said that to the
picture
.
"But the fight will only really break out again now," said Röttgen.
US President
Donald Trump
will not simply give up and try to continue working on his legend.
There will be motions in court, Trump and his team will try to stop the counting.
"We will experience days and weeks of struggle," said the CDU politician.
Now it must be feared that supporters of Trump could resort to means that lie outside of democratic debate.
In
Arizona
and
Michigan
there were protests in front of institutions in which votes were still being counted that evening.
Reactions from Germany to the US election: Trump according to Röttgen not a "mistake"
Update from November 5, 9:40 a.m.:
Trump's presidency is
not just a slip in history
for CDU foreign politician
Norbert Röttgen
.
On the
Deutschlandfunk
, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the
Bundestag
said
on Thursday: "You can't say that was a mistake and the Americans noticed it and they will now correct it quickly and easily."
Röttgen
named abortion, low taxes and gun rights
as examples of topics that are important to many voters.
"
I vote for
Trump
, no matter what he is, because he brings my topic forward" - that applies to millions of voters.
Joe Biden's
task
, should he become
US President
, be to overcome the division in American society.
Reactions from Germany to the US election: Friedrich Merz is ridiculed for his statement
Update from November 5, 2:20 a.m.:
There is still
no winner of the presidential election
in the
USA
.
Given the good chances for challenger Joe Biden, the
Greens
warn
against jumping to conclusions.
“The election is only over when all votes have been counted,” said
party leader Annalena Baerbock
in a tweet on Wednesday evening.
"Premature congratulations mock the rights of voters."
Meanwhile,
CDU chairman Friedrich Merz is
ridiculed for appearing in a stream of the picture.
"We'd be fine," said Merz, who also
wants to
succeed
Chancellor Angela Merkel
in the Chancellery.
“Yoah, I think so right away,” said
SPD General Secretary Lars Klingbeil
.
The background could also be the behavior of Trump in the past few hours.
The US President spoke of fraud and repeatedly prematurely or even falsely declared himself the winner.
In view of this, even important representatives of the otherwise presidential broadcaster Fox News broke with Trump.
Yoah, I think so right away.
pic.twitter.com/y8lxSeVANq
- Lars Klingbeil 🇪🇺 (@larsklingbeil) November 4, 2020
Update from November 4, 7:14 p.m
.: Another
person
who,
according to his own statement, has been observing
the
split in American society
for some time is
Friedrich Merz *
, applicant for the CDU chairmanship.
However, he currently wants to stay out of “public opinions” and “public recommendations”, as he
said
on
Bild Live
.
But he knows “what makes Americans tick” due to numerous trips to America.
And if he were to
fly across the ocean
as
Chancellor
in the future
, Merz would also know how to deal with Donald Trump: "We'd be fine."
2020 US election: reactions from Germany - Merkel's foreign minister expresses clear criticism
Update from November 4, 5:56 p.m.:
Originally,
Heiko Maas
(SPD)
wanted to make
a press
statement this afternoon, but he canceled
that at short notice
(see update from November 4, 12.24 p.m.)
.
Now he speaks again about the
US election
in several messages on Twitter
.
Due to the tight race and the many votes that still have to be counted, Maas writes: “It would be premature to comment on the election today.” The
turnout
at the election was “historically high - unfortunately also the polarization.
It is therefore important that all politicians who reach people directly create trust in the electoral process and the results. "
Following
Donald Trump's statement
this morning in which he said he won the election even though not all of the votes have been counted, some have criticized his actions as "anti-democratic".
Maas says: "
America
is a strong
democracy
, which with its" checks and balances "has proven several times in the past that it works even in difficult situations and can clarify critical questions in terms of democratic principles."
You can find further decisive developments in relation to the US election in both articles on Merkur.de.
Editorial offices from Germany on the 2020 US election: Merkel has been reluctant to comment so far
Update from November 4, 4:15 p.m.:
Chancellor
Angela Merkel
(CDU) has not yet commented on the US election.
Your spokesman
Steffen Seibert
said: "The Federal Government has
confidence
in the democratic tradition and in the constitutional institutions" of the
USA
.
As long as there is no final result, he does not want to comment on "the state of affairs".
Finance Minister
Olaf Scholz
(SPD) meanwhile insists “that democratic elections should take place in full”.
"And that means they are over when all votes are counted." With this statement he refers to the premature proclamation by US President Donald Trump that he and the Republicans had won the election, although not all votes have been counted .
According to a statement from the SPD party executive, SPD leader
Saskia Esken also
sharply
criticized
Trump's actions.
"A candidate, even if he is the incumbent president who calls for postal votes not to be counted, acts anti-democratically."
.
@OlafScholz calls for the full count of all votes.
SPD leader @EskenSaskia sharply criticizes Trump's statements and calls for the defense of democratic achievements >> https://t.co/EXsKODNQHI # Elections2020
- SPD party executive 🇪🇺 (@spdde) November 4, 2020
CDU external expert
Norbert Röttgen
, chairman of the Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee, fears
unrest and riots
in the USA.
He also criticizes Trump's proclamation of victory: "That can lead to weeks of dispute and has a high potential for conflict," said Röttgen
RP Online
.
The USA is deeply shaped “socially and politically”.
This US election shows that nothing has changed.
US election 2020: Markus Söder wants a stronger Europe
Update from November 4th, 12:24 p.m.:
Regardless of how the
US election
ends
,
Markus Söder (CSU)
believes that the EU must act more
united in order
to gain more weight
against the
USA
.
"Europe has to become much stronger, economically, technologically, and also in terms of security policy, in order to ultimately develop an independent position on a par with the USA - regardless of who is president," said Söder.
"Europe really has to be fundamentally aware once again that a change has taken place in the transatlantic relationship." Söder therefore demanded: "Less small and small among us in Europe, rather a strong community base."
US election: AKK speaks of an "explosive situation" - Maas cancels Statment
Update from November 4th, 12:24 p.m.:
Maas has now canceled his announced statement at short notice.
The reasons are unclear.
Presumably the situation in the USA is still too confusing for the Federal Foreign Office.
AKK, on the other hand, surprised with very clear words and a gloomy forecast (see update from 10:08 a.m.).
Update from November 4, 12.15 p.m.:
The
Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas
wants to make
a press statement live in front of the camera
shortly
.
That could be exciting insofar as the SPD politician is an avowed Trump critic and, on the other hand, Germany may have to work with a US president named Trump for another four years.
Update from November 4th, 10:08 a.m.:
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, still CDU chairwoman and defense minister, speaks in the ZDF morning magazine.
“This is a very explosive situation.” Experts rightly warned of a constitutional crisis in the USA.
"And that is something that must certainly worry us very much overall."
US election: first reactions from Germany
Update from November 4th, 9.33 a.m
.: Some politicians in Germany are shocked to Trump's speech.
FDP boss Christian Lindner speaks on ZDF "of a dismaying situation" - and dares a gloomy prognosis:
"This creates a dramatic conflict situation in American democracy with unforeseeable consequences not only for the American people, but beyond - also for the world and therefore also for us in Europe."
"That is really undemocratic," said Gregor Gysi (left) on ZDF.
"He wants to stimulate people." Gysi criticized Trump's announcement that he wanted to stop the counting of votes in court.
In doing so, the president “did neither himself nor his country nor humanity a favor”.
Update from November 4th, 7.13 a.m.:
The
transatlantic coordinator of the federal government Peter Beyer
expects violent riots if there is no clear result in the US election soon.
"If it takes until there is a final decision on the election winner, it is to be feared that there will be confrontations between the two camps on the streets," said the
CDU politician on Wednesday morning to
the German press agency.
“But I don't think that there will be a nationwide civil war-like situation.” There are no leaders and no organizations that could set something like this off ad hoc.
"I think the scenario of a civil war is completely exaggerated." Even if Trump wins,
Germany will have
to strive for a better relationship with the USA, Beyer continued.
Update from November 4th, 5.49 a.m.:
In almost all US states the polling stations are now closed.
Here are the three most important messages from election night.
US election 2020: Christian Lindner has "sympathies" for Joe Biden
Update from November 4, 5:38 a.m.: Christian Lindner
, federal chairman of the FDP,
spoke
about the US election
in a conversation with
ntv
.
He believes that something
would change
with Democrat
Joe Biden
, at least in the style of American politics
.
“That's why I would have sympathies” for winning Biden.
But politics is not a request concert.
But not everything would change with Joe Biden.
Lindner warns against “naivety” at the thought that “the substance of American politics will be different”.
After all,
he trusts Biden to have
more
multilateralism
and
international cooperation
.
Nevertheless, Europe and Germany must become "more independent" and increasingly take on an "independent role".
When asked how Trump will be dealt with if the President
spends
another four years in the
White House
, Lindner replied: "A new start with Donald Trump is difficult."
Update from November 4th, 3.32 a.m.:
In
Germany
,
too
, some broadcasters report the entire night about the
US election
.
The special broadcast of the
ARD
now has to take a lot of criticism in the social media.
You can read why viewers classify the reporting as "underground" in this report on Merkur.de.
+
An oversized cardboard display with a picture of US President Trump stands in front of the Brandenburg Gate.
© Paul Zinken / dpa-Zentralbild / dpa
US election 2020: SPD man Lars Klingbeil thinks Donald Trump is a "racist"
Update from November 4th, 1:04 am:
SPD General Secretary
Lars Klingbeil
finds very clear words against Donald Trump
: "I celebrate when he's gone," he said on
Bild Live
.
“I think he's a
racist
, I think he's someone who divides himself in the corona pandemic.
And I don't want such people to determine world politics. ”And he added:“ I even think I can say that for the whole SPD. ”
Update from November 4, 0.46 a.m.:
A member of the federal government who should be particularly interested in the election is Foreign Minister
Heiko Maas
(SPD *).
He hopes that the
transatlantic relationship will
improve again after the past four years.
"We need each other," he said on Tuesday on
ARD
.
The partnership
"no longer worked"
under US President
Donald Trump
*.
New crises and conflicts have arisen, but none have been resolved.
But just deselection of Trump would not change everything.
It would be an “illusion” to believe that under a US President Biden everything would be as the
Europeans
would like
.
In Berlin Maas also said: "We want a
New Deal
in this partnership and we are ready to invest in our relationship." Like Olaf Scholz
(see update from November 3rd, 4:56 pm), he spoke
of a "trend-setting election" .
Trump stands primarily for America First,
Joe Biden
* for more
international cooperation
.
The foreign policy spokesman for the left in the Bundestag,
Gregor Gysi
, is meanwhile expressly crossing his fingers for Joe Biden.
On
Deutschlandfunk
he mentioned his motivation: "Because Trump is an enormous burden for the USA, but also for humanity."
If Trump is re-elected, the disinhibition in US foreign policy will continue.
For geostrategic reasons, we have our own interest in good relations with the USA, Russia and China; we do not have a good relationship with any of the three.
@DLF https://t.co/ZkjrodvTkf
- Gregor Gysi (@GregorGysi) November 3, 2020
US election 2020: Scholz hopes for reconciliation instead of division in the US
Update from November 3, 4:56 p.m
.:
Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD)
has described the
US election
as trend-setting - for the USA, but also for the rest of the world.
He looks to the time after the election with hope: "I hope for the citizens of the USA that the future after today's
election will
be shaped by reconciliation and not by division," said the
SPD politician
in Berlin on Tuesday.
Germany feels closely linked to the USA through its shared past: "We will always stand by the side of those who stand up for freedom, a rule and value-based world order and multilateralism," said Scholz.
US election 2020: reactions from Germany - Kretschmann (Greens) hopes for Biden's victory
Update from November 3, 1:29 p.m.:
The
Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) is
hoping for
Joe Biden
to win the
US election
.
He would also like to see a change at the top in view of economic ties to the southwest.
"Of course I want that, but my wish probably has no influence on it," said Kretschmann on Tuesday in the Stuttgart state parliament.
In Kretschmann's opinion, the choice is of great historical importance.
The previous relationship with
Donald Trump
was not a path that was the right one for the Southwest economy.
So we can be curious to see who will be the next US president.
US election 2020: reactions from Germany - is Merkel changing her words?
First report from October 30th:
Berlin - The days leading up to the
2020 US election
were marked by the last legs of the election campaign.
The outcome of the election is of course not only
relevant
for the
United States
.
On the contrary.
On November 3rd, people all over the world are looking to
Washington
with excitement
*.
What would
Donald Trump's
second term
mean, what would a change of power to
Joe Biden
mean?
Many countries are currently concerned with this question.
Here in the news ticker you can find out on election day what reactions politicians in Germany are showing to the result of the US election.
The latest news, which candidate is ahead, projections and interim results from the USA can be found in the general live ticker for the 2020 US election.
US election 2020: Trump's relationship with Germany is crumbling - "A limit has simply been crossed"
The German-American relationship has
cracked
under
Trump
.
The sometimes controversial policy of the Republican * has left its mark.
Be it climate protection, trade, refugee policy or currently the Corona crisis *.
Recently,
Trump
and Chancellor
Angela Merkel have
noticeably drifted apart.
Relationships reached a low point when
Trump called
the European Union an “enemy” in 2018: “A limit has simply been crossed,” said
CDU member of the Bundestag Peter Beyer
recently to
Deutsche Welle
.
The general demeanor of the
president
would also have caused irritation in Berlin.
“We were actually used to discussing things with one another.
We had to learn a lot there, ”said Beyer.
Trump's announcement that US troops were to be withdrawn from Germany “we heard from a newspaper article in the Wall Street Journal and then there was a whole week of silence.
(...) Nothing came further. "
2020 US election: Trump or Biden?
Reactions from Germany
However,
Beyer
does not
believe that everything will suddenly get better with a change of power
.
The style of communication would be different, but “the demands of the
US
on us would be at least as high as under
Donald Trump
.” Nevertheless, German politics seems
to long for
Joe Biden
.
But what would the German reaction be to another victory by
Donald Trump
?
After the 2016 election,
Angela Merkel
formally
congratulated
Trump and wrote in a government statement: “I congratulate
Donald Trump
on his election victory.
Who the American people elect their president in free and fair elections has significance far beyond the
United States
. ”The Chancellor made it clear:“ For us Germans
, we have a deeper connection
with no country outside the
European Union
than with the
United States United States of America.
"
+
How deep is the connection after Donald Trump's four-year tenure?
© Brendan Smialowski / AFP
US election 2020: If Trump wins - will Merkel's reaction be different than before?
Germany
and the
USA
are “connected by values: democracy, freedom, respect for the rights and dignity of people, regardless of origin, skin color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or political attitude.
On the basis of these values, I offer the future
President of the United States of America
*,
Donald Trump
, close cooperation. ”Diplomatic and kind words from the Chancellor.
However, due to the disappointments experienced by Trump, the CDU politician could change her reaction after this election.
How does
Merkel
react
to the outcome of the 2020 US election and how does Donald Trump behave on election day?
What is the general perception in German politics?
In this text you can read all the important reactions from the Federal Republic after the results have been announced.
Elsewhere we tell you how Joe Biden experiences the US election.
(as) * Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network
List of rubric lists: © Michael Kappeler / dpa