Advertisement

Germany warns of 'very explosive situation' after US vote

AFP/The Local
AFP/The Local - [email protected]
Germany warns of 'very explosive situation' after US vote
Kramp-Karrenbauer speaking in the Bundestag on Thursday. Photo: DPA

German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer on Wednesday warned the United States was facing a "very explosive situation" and a possible systemic crisis after President Donald Trump prematurely declared election victory.

Advertisement

Following Trump's remarks that he will go to the Supreme Court to stop ballots from being tallied, Kramp-Karrenbauer told public broadcaster ZDF "this election has not been decided... votes are still being counted".

She said Trump could create "a constitutional crisis in the USA", calling such a scenario "something that must deeply concern us".

The minister, who is also head of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union party, said it appeared "the battle over the legitimacy of the result, however it turns out, has begun".

Advertisement

She admitted that the German-US relationship had faced "a tough test in the past four years" with fierce Trump criticism of Berlin over trade and military spending.

However, she said, "this friendship is more than a question of which administration is currently in the White House", saying she dismissed calls in Germany to "decouple ourselves from the United States".

But Kramp-Karrenbauer stressed that regardless of the ultimate outcome of the US vote, Europe would need to become more self-sufficient.

"We will have to do a lot more for our own interests -- both as Germany and in particular with the other Europeans," she said.

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz echoed the sentiment, saying that given the developments in the United States, Europe needed to strengthen its own "sovereignty" so that "a rules-based global order can exist".

"That is why we need to take this opportunity to make Europe strong," he told reporters in Berlin.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) has not yet commented on the ongoing vote tally Wednesday, but on election day Tuesday expressed his desire for fair and democratic elections.

"I hope that what we have learned from the Americans will happen: that the rules of democracy will be accepted by everyone, tweeted Maas.

 

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

Anonymous 2020/11/04 16:16
During Obama's time, there was spying on the German Government. The usual Trump derangement syndrome.

See Also