German politicians are also reacting with relief to Biden’s withdrawal. Can Donald Trump still be prevented? The German labor minister is receiving initial information after Biden’s bombshell in Washington.
Germany’s politicians are watching the dramatic days of the US election campaign with amazement. The reactions to the withdrawal of the incumbent Joe Biden, weakened by age, from the renewed race for the White House speak of relief. But can the US Democrats still turn the election campaign around and prevent Donald Trump from becoming the new president?
Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) was on a trip to the USA and was eating with campaigners from the presidential party near the White House when the news of Biden’s move burst into the group via cell phones. What are the initial findings on the current situation from a German perspective?
“Biden’s decision historic”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wrote on Platform X that Biden’s decision not to run again deserves “recognition”. Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) paid Biden “deep esteem”, CDU leader Friedrich Merz “greatest respect”. Heil said in a dpa video interview in Washington: “The news of Joe Biden’s decision has historic significance.” It is also important for Germany and Europe that this is now “an open presidential race” again.
The current core question
Shortly before, there was still quite a hangover at the labor minister’s lunch table. The tone among the half dozen advisers and campaigners of the US Democrats, some of whom had been with the office for many years, was that Biden was probably no longer able to run a successful election campaign because of his age. Then the first person saw the news of Biden’s withdrawal – and everyone pulled out their cell phones.
“What a moment,” said Heil, who was sitting over a green salad. The mood suddenly changed – now in focus: the next steps and the chances of Biden’s deputy and preferred candidate Kamala Harris. The current key question for Heil: “Will the Democrats manage a fresh start in the next few days or will fights break out there now?”
“Kamala Harris can fight”
The Democrats know that the Republican challenger Trump would like to portray them as a party of chaos – that is clear. And they want to do everything to avoid that. At least in this group of Democratic puppet masters, there is agreement: Kamala Harris can make it happen. The US director of the SPD-affiliated Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Knut Dethlefsen, believes that Harris can fight, can lead the “attack department” – exactly what is needed in the election campaign against Trump. “We still have 102 days until the election,” one of Heil’s interlocutors states defiantly. So there is still enough time.
“This is an open race again”
Heil dutifully stated that the federal government had also worked well with the Trump administration and was prepared for all scenarios. “We hope for the best and must also expect difficult things. But of course my personal sympathies as a Democrat, as a Social Democrat, are with Kamala Harris.”
Heil: “I hope that she will be able to win with a strong campaign.” His US interlocutors assumed “that a jolt will now go through the party.” In other countries, too, right-wing populists lost and Democrats won – in France, for example, in Great Britain and in Poland. Heil: “That gives us hope that these elections can also turn out well here.”
Impact on Germany of a Trump victory
Ukraine, missile protection, NATO – the US election result has major implications for Germany and Europe, said Heil. The labor minister actually traveled to the USA to see new approaches to the world of work using artificial intelligence (AI) – and possibly to learn lessons for Germany.
Next stop on Heil’s US tour: Houston, Texas. The US space agency NASA is also researching the potential of AI on Earth. “It’s about AI serving people and not the other way around,” says Heil. In other words, that people are not rationalized away and computers do not gain the upper hand. And here too – the SPD minister believes – it will be crucial who governs the USA in the future. Because right-wing populists generally want full priority for the market without much consideration for people.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
