Cornelia Funke on the US election: "It makes sense to continue to worry"

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Author Cornelia Funke

Photo: Michael Orth / dpa

Writer Cornelia Funke initially missed the moment when Joe Biden was declared the winner of the presidential election by the US media.

"I was about to feed my donkeys and my ducks and I didn't know anything," Funke told the dpa news agency.

The author of the bestsellers "Inkheart" and "Reckless" lives on an avocado farm in Malibu, California.

Her assistant called and shouted "Biden won" in her ear.

She was happy about the victory of Democratic challenger Biden over Republican Donald Trump.

But Funke still seems worried.

"It is reasonable to continue to worry, especially that a large part of the population has accepted everything that Mister Trump has done and that the Republican Party has stood behind it. I find that very worrying because you have seen has that it was only about power and not about values, "said Funke.

"Still, it's very reassuring that the majority of Americans stood up and went to the ballot box and said, no, that's the way we don't want to be governed any longer."

"The new fascism is everywhere. I think we can only take this as a warning"

Cornelia Funke

The 61-year-old, who has lived in California for 15 years, sees this as a wake-up call for the whole world, "because the populist movement is everywhere. The new fascism is everywhere. I think we can only take this as a warning, that democracy is not just put off. "

She was "very positively impressed" by Joe Biden, said Funke.

"I believe that Biden feels empathy, that he can listen, that he doesn't personify the Wall Street elite like Hillary Clinton."

The mother of two is surrounded by an idyllic wilderness on her farm.

There she was fortunate to live very protected and privileged.

But she also valued this difficult year as a "reminder" to get involved even more politically, through donations and aid campaigns.

"I feel like I've done more this year than ever before," said Funke.

At the weekend she celebrated the Biden victory with two Italians, three Germans and three Americans.

Humanity should band together now in the face of climate change and other important issues, rather than acting nationalistically.

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lmd / dpa