Statement about Brazil: Merz doesn’t wish to apologize for Bélem assertion | EUROtoday

Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz doesn’t wish to apologize for his much-criticized assertion concerning the Brazilian metropolis of Bélem and doesn’t see any injury to relations with the nation consequently. Government spokesman Stefan Kornelius stated this at a press convention in Berlin in response to a journalist’s query.

“Small hierarchy” of probably the most stunning international locations on this planet

He contradicted the studying that the Chancellor had expressed “disapproval” and even “disgust” concerning the metropolis on the Amazon. “He said we live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world and he related that to Germany,” defined Kornelius. Brazil is definitely probably the most stunning international locations on this planet. “But the fact that the German Chancellor is introducing a small hierarchy here is, I don’t think, reprehensible.”

After his go to to the local weather convention in Bélem, Merz expressed his impressions of the poor metropolis on the Amazon at a commerce congress in Berlin. “I asked some journalists who were with me in Brazil last week: Which one of you would like to stay here? Nobody raised their hand,” he stated. “They were all happy that we returned to Germany, especially from this place where we were, on the night from Friday to Saturday.” The message that Merz related to these statements was: In Germany, folks reside “in one of the most beautiful countries in the world.”

Lula: Bélem ten occasions higher than Berlin

The assertion sparked outraged reactions in Brazil. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva additionally spoke out. Merz ought to have gone to a bar, danced there and tried the native delicacies, “because then he would have realized that Berlin doesn’t even offer him ten percent of the quality that the state of Pará and the city of Belém offer,” stated Lula.