After speaking about Belém, Merz hopes to have an ‘easy conversation’ with Lula

After praising Germany as “one of the most beautiful countries in the world” during a speech at an event in Berlin last week, the chancellor added: “I asked some journalists who were with me in Brazil last week: ‘Which of you would like to stay here?’ Nobody raised their hand. Everyone was happy that we returned to Germany on the night of Friday to Saturday, especially from where we were.”

The speech caused discomfort in Brazil and was also criticized in Germany, and President Lula responded, saying that Merz should have enjoyed the culture and cuisine of Pará during his visit to Brazil and listed a series of attractions and activities, stating that “Berlin does not offer 10% of the quality” of Pará and Belém. “(Merz), in fact, should have gone to a bar in Pará, should have danced in Pará”, said the PT member when speaking at the inauguration of a bridge in Tocantins.

The spokesman for the Merz government, Stefan Kornelius, said this Wednesday that he does not believe that there will be any harm to German-Brazilian relations, stressing that, on the contrary, Merz “made the most of his very short trip to Brazil to strengthen the excellent relations between Germany and Brazil”.

“The chancellor did not intend to speak in a derogatory way about Brazil”, underlined Kornelius, denying that Merz had any reason or intention to apologize for the comment.

In Germany, politicians from the Green Party and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) criticized Merz. To DW, SPD deputy Isabel Cademartori said that “a German chancellor must avoid giving the impression that he treats important partner countries in the Global South with Western arrogance.”

Finance Minister and SPD co-leader Lars Klingbeil said on Wednesday in Shanghai, in response to questions from journalists, that Merz’s visit to Belém was very positive. There are joint projects with Brazil. “I also noticed this nuisance, but we will resolve it quickly,” Klingbeil said. He has always advocated that politicians have freedom of expression, the SPD leader added. Spokespeople for the Ministries of Environment and Development also stated that they had not noticed any disagreements.