Donald Trump's presidency is a thing of the past - German politicians are delighted. Chancellor Merkel and Foreign Minister Maas are also making this clear.
Friedrich Merz receives criticism.
Washington, DC / Berlin - A new political chapter opened in the US on Wednesday - and another ended.
Joe Biden
replaces
Donald Trump
in the White House.
And even if Trump's four years are a rather short presidency,
the relief was noticeably great
among
Germany's top politicians
.
Unusually drastic statements also came from Berlin.
Merkel reacts to Biden's inauguration: Chancellor looks forward to "new chapter" after Trump
"In the past four years we have seen what" America first "has meant: no vote, no consultations," said
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas
(SPD) on ZDF.
Joe Biden wants to change that.
“I am very happy that the time has finally come again.
Because we need the United States to face major challenges, to really get the crises of this time under control again. "
Chancellor Angela Merkel
(CDU) held back with open criticism of Trump.
But the congratulations spread by spokesman Steffen Seibert spoke of a clear attitude.
"I'm looking forward to a new chapter in German-American friendship and cooperation," Merkel was quoted as saying.
The inauguration * was "a celebration of American democracy".
Possibly also a cross-reference to the recently very unpleasant pictures from the Washington Capitol.
+
Joe Biden and Angela Merkel in 2015 at the Munich Security Conference in the Bayerischer Hof.
© imago stock & people / Christian Thiel
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
had already expressed the hope of closer cooperation with the USA before the swearing-in ceremony.
"We look forward to having the USA back by our side as an indispensable partner in many questions in the future."
Trump leaves: Merz missed "style and decency" - Twitter users remember the interview
Friedrich Merz
, who
was once again unsuccessful when he reached for the CDU chairmanship, also spoke up
- and promptly again aroused displeasure.
In the fall, Merz said in an interview that as Chancellor he would definitely get along with a colleague Trump.
After
Biden's inauguration
, Merz chose other words.
“Today style and decency are returning to the White House.
Democracy in America is again an example for the world, ”tweeted Merz - and, unsurprisingly, received his quotes, which were a few months old, as a reminder via screenshot.
Biden takes over US presidency from Trump: Söder wants to clear "rubble" aside
Meanwhile, CSU boss Markus Söder
tweeted: “The transatlantic bridge is being rebuilt.
We have to push aside the rubble that Trump caused. ”The
SPD chairman Norbert Walter-Borjans
spoke of a“ new chapter ”for the Americans, but also in transatlantic relations.
"Now is the time to look forward together," he told the dpa.
The
Green parliamentary group leaders Katrin Göring-Eckardt
and
Anton Hofreiter
spoke of a “good day for democracy” when Joe Biden * took office.
During his four years in office,
Trump
treated
Germany
not like an ally, but rather like an opponent, whom he named in the same breath as
China
and
Russia
and even
dealt
with sanctions.
The main points of contention included defense spending, the
Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline
between Russia and Germany, and the German trade surplus.
As one of his last official acts, Trump issued sanctions with a view to the pipeline *.
They won't go away with Biden either, but the
federal government
hopes that the way we deal with one another will change significantly.
(
dpa / fn
) *
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.
Also interesting:
Biden and Europe know each other, but that's not enough
- what has to happen now *
