BERLIN: Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s spokesperson denied Wednesday that the German leader meant to denigrate Brazil after visiting the city hosting the UN climate summit, defending his stance toward the country following remarks that drew sharp criticism from officials there.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Belem’s mayor, the governor of Para state and several lawmakers pushed back against comments Merz made last week following a Nov. 7 visit to Belem. Merz appeared to be trying to put into perspective complaints about the current situation in prosperous Germany, whose economy is struggling to generate growth, in a speech to a trade conference in Berlin.
“We live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Last week I asked some journalists who were with me in Brazil: Which of you would like to stay here? No one raised their hand,” Merz said. “They were all happy that, above all, we returned from this place to Germany in the night from Friday to Saturday.”
On Wednesday, Merz spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said that “it is far from the chancellor to comment in a derogatory way about Brazil.” He added at a regular government news conference that Merz had used his short visit to Brazil “very intensively to deepen the excellent relations Germany has with Brazil.”
Kornelius said that Merz’s impression of his trip had been “very positive” and “there is no doubt that Brazil is our most important partner geostrategically and economically in South America.”
The disputed remark “essentially concerned the wish of the delegation to return home after a very tiring night flight and a long day in Belem,” he said. “When the chancellor says that we live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world, that doesn’t mean other countries aren’t also very beautiful.”
Asked whether Merz would apologize or whether he saw any damage to relations, Kornelius replied: “No, twice.”
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Merz spokesperson defends German leader over remarks criticized in Brazil
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Merz spokesperson defends German leader over remarks criticized in Brazil
- Merz spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said that “it is far from the chancellor to comment in a derogatory way about Brazil”
- Kornelius said that Merz’s impression of his trip had been “very positive”
Pardoned Honduran ex-president praises Trump
WASHINGTON: The recently freed former president of Honduras praised US President Donald Trump Wednesday for opening “a lot of people’s eyes in Honduras” by supporting conservative presidential candidate Nasry Asfura.
Juan Orlando Hernandez was freed from serving a 45-year sentence in a US prison after receiving a presidential pardon from Trump, and he is presumed to be staying at an unknown location.
“The Honduran people sent a clear message. Overwhelmingly, they rejected the failed ideology of the radical left, the socialism coming from Venezuela,” Hernandez said in an interview with far-right broadcaster One America News (OAN).
“But we have to understand that they have a playbook. You know, every single election I won, even before the day of the election, the radical left also would say, ‘if we don’t win, we are not going to recognize the results.’“
Trump-backed businessman Asfura has a razor-thin lead in the presidential election over TV personality Salvador Nasralla — also a conservative — but votes are still being counted amid claims of interference.
Suspicions of fraud have been fueled by successive computer failures that have stalled tallying.
The ruling party in Honduras, led by leftist president Xiomara Castro, has rejected the provisional results giving Asfura a slim lead.
The left maintains Trump’s support of Asfura and his pardon of Hernandez amounted to electoral interference.
Extradited by Honduras to face charges in the United States and convicted of drug trafficking, the former leader insists it was all a setup carried out by the previous presidential administration of Joe Biden because his policies were too conservative.
Hernandez did not reveal his plans or whether he plans to seek asylum in the United States.
“My priority right now is how I can reunite with my family. I haven’t seen them in four years,” he said.
Asked whether he would be willing to seek asylum in Israel, where he forged strong ties by recognizing Jerusalem as the capital, Hernandez said it would be “a very complicated move, and I don’t have any financial support to do that.”
In Honduras, the current government’s prosecutor’s office has reopened the arrest warrant facing Hernandez.
“Isn’t that a clear example of political persecution? What I’m going to do right now, I’m working with my lawyers,” he said.
Hernandez added that if he returns to Honduras he will not only face the “political charges, but also there are some documents from the FBI and other US agencies that say there are people who want to target my life and my family.”
Juan Orlando Hernandez was freed from serving a 45-year sentence in a US prison after receiving a presidential pardon from Trump, and he is presumed to be staying at an unknown location.
“The Honduran people sent a clear message. Overwhelmingly, they rejected the failed ideology of the radical left, the socialism coming from Venezuela,” Hernandez said in an interview with far-right broadcaster One America News (OAN).
“But we have to understand that they have a playbook. You know, every single election I won, even before the day of the election, the radical left also would say, ‘if we don’t win, we are not going to recognize the results.’“
Trump-backed businessman Asfura has a razor-thin lead in the presidential election over TV personality Salvador Nasralla — also a conservative — but votes are still being counted amid claims of interference.
Suspicions of fraud have been fueled by successive computer failures that have stalled tallying.
The ruling party in Honduras, led by leftist president Xiomara Castro, has rejected the provisional results giving Asfura a slim lead.
The left maintains Trump’s support of Asfura and his pardon of Hernandez amounted to electoral interference.
Extradited by Honduras to face charges in the United States and convicted of drug trafficking, the former leader insists it was all a setup carried out by the previous presidential administration of Joe Biden because his policies were too conservative.
Hernandez did not reveal his plans or whether he plans to seek asylum in the United States.
“My priority right now is how I can reunite with my family. I haven’t seen them in four years,” he said.
Asked whether he would be willing to seek asylum in Israel, where he forged strong ties by recognizing Jerusalem as the capital, Hernandez said it would be “a very complicated move, and I don’t have any financial support to do that.”
In Honduras, the current government’s prosecutor’s office has reopened the arrest warrant facing Hernandez.
“Isn’t that a clear example of political persecution? What I’m going to do right now, I’m working with my lawyers,” he said.
Hernandez added that if he returns to Honduras he will not only face the “political charges, but also there are some documents from the FBI and other US agencies that say there are people who want to target my life and my family.”
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