{"id":12746,"date":"2025-12-07T17:33:45","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T16:33:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paddys.de\/?p=12746"},"modified":"2025-12-09T20:28:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T19:28:00","slug":"des-deutschen-kanzlers-wellen-schlugen-hoch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paddys.de\/en\/des-deutschen-kanzlers-wellen-schlugen-hoch\/","title":{"rendered":"The German chancellor's waves beat high"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time<\/span> 9<\/span> Minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

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The voices of experts, journalists and activists \u2013 German Chancellor Wellen made waves (Part 2)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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4. Reuters, AFP, TRT, EuroNews and Deutsche Welle of the German Chancellor Waves rose high.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Friedrich Merz stands at a lectern in Berlin, speaking to a room full of business representatives \u2013 and makes a joke at Bel\u00e9m's expense.1<\/a><\/sup> AFP \u2013 Merz angers Brazilians with comments about Bel\u00e9m \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/youtu.be\/agnJfFNSYJ4 <\/a><\/span> \u201eWho among you would like to stay here?\u201c he asked the journalists at COP30. No one raised their hand; everyone was happy to return to Germany \u201efrom this place\u201c.2<\/a><\/sup> Euronews \u2013 German Chancellor Merz criticises Bel\u00e9m, causing concern among Brazilians \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2025\/11\/19\/should-have-gone-to-a-pub-merz-blasts-belem-rattling-brazilians<\/a> <\/span> In Germany, this is considered an \u201eunfortunate remark\u201c. In Brazil, it strikes a collective nerve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When a chancellor mocks \u201ethis place\u201c<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The scene, which AFP, DW, Euronews and countless short films show over and over again, is brief \u2013 but it tells a lot.3<\/a><\/sup> AFP \u2013 Merz angers Brazilians with comments about Bel\u00e9m \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/youtu.be\/agnJfFNSYJ4 <\/a><\/span>4<\/a><\/sup> DW \u2013 Merz sparks outrage over Bel\u00e9m comments \ud83c\udf10https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/merz-sparks-outrage-over-belem-comments\/video-74813808<\/a> <\/span> A white, conservative head of government from a wealthy industrialised country mocks a city in the Global South that is currently hosting 50,000 people at the World Climate Conference \u2013 in the middle of a region where the climate crisis has long been a daily reality.5<\/a><\/sup> Ecologic Institute \u2013 The COP30 Climate Conference in Bel\u00e9m \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/www.ecologic.eu\/20238 <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Merz frames his anecdote with the statement that Germany is \u201eone of the most beautiful countries in the world,\u201c only to then implicitly declare Bel\u00e9m to be the opposite.6<\/a><\/sup> Euronews \u2013 German Chancellor Merz criticises Bel\u00e9m, causing concern among Brazilians \ud83c\udf10https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2025\/11\/19\/should-have-gone-to-a-pub-merz-blasts-belem-rattling-brazilians<\/a> <\/span> What is intended as a jovial punchline comes across in Brazil as a slap in the face. The international reels accompany it with sad music, flash images of skyscrapers in Berlin and wooden houses on the Amazon, and let memes speak for themselves, in which Merz becomes the epitome of the arrogant North. And suddenly you realise: these few seconds say something not only about his capacity for empathy, but also about the structures we are all caught up in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Graphic: Screenshot: \u201eSpeaking at an event after his return, Merz referred to Bel\u00e9m as \u201athis place\u2018.\u201c Euronews: German Chancellor Merz blasts Bel\u00e9m, rattling Brazilians, available online at https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2025\/11\/19\/should-have-gone-to-a-pub-merz-blasts-belem-rattling-brazilians<\/a> accessed on 7 December 2025. Editorial use<\/strong>. 7<\/a><\/sup> Euronews: German Chancellor Merz criticises Bel\u00e9m, rattling Brazilians \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2025\/11\/19\/should-have-gone-to-a-pub-merz-blasts-belem-rattling-brazilians<\/a> <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Graphic: Screenshot: \u201eThey were all happy that we returned, especially from that place.\u201c Euronews: German Chancellor Merz blasts Bel\u00e9m, rattling Brazilians, available online at https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2025\/11\/19\/should-have-gone-to-a-pub-merz-blasts-belem-rattling-brazilians<\/a> accessed on 7 December 2025. Editorial use.<\/strong>8<\/a><\/sup> Euronews: German Chancellor Merz criticises Bel\u00e9m, rattling Brazilians \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2025\/11\/19\/should-have-gone-to-a-pub-merz-blasts-belem-rattling-brazilians<\/a> <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Brazil responds: \u201eGo dancing, Friedrich\u201c<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The political response from Brazil is remarkably swift and astonishingly clear. Speaking at an event in the north of the country, President Lula da Silva says that Merz should perhaps have simply gone to a bar, eaten and danced \u2013 then he would have realised that Berlin offers him \u201enot even ten per cent\u201c of the quality of life that Par\u00e1 and Bel\u00e9m have to offer. 9<\/a><\/sup> AP News \u2013 Germany's Merz under fire in Brazil for his comments on Amazon host city of COP30 \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/brazil-germany-merz-climate-comment-ee023c194006b4d2eea0a7ffb514d393<\/a> <\/span> 10<\/a><\/sup> France24 \/ RFI \u2013 Lula says Germany\u2019s Merz should have \u2018gone dancing\u2019 in Bel\u00e9m \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/www.rfi.fr\/en\/international-news\/20251118-that-place-merz-offends-brazil-with-comments-about-cop30-city<\/a> <\/span> The phrase goes viral: \u201eHe should have gone dancing.\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bel\u00e9m Mayor Igor Normando calls Merz's words \u2019arrogant and full of prejudice\u201e<\/strong> and emphasises that other German guests found the city to be warm and lively.11<\/a><\/sup> DW \u2013 What did Germany's Chancellor say to make Brazil so upset? \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/germany-chancellor-friedrich-merz-brazil-belem-comments\/a-74803781<\/a> <\/span> The Governor of Par\u00e1 accuses him of being surprised by the heat in the Amazon, coming from a country that has contributed massively to global warming.<\/strong> \u2013 and that this speech reveals more about the speaker than about Bel\u00e9m.12<\/a><\/sup> TRT World \u2013 Brazil boils over at Merz's \u2018that place\u2019 remark belittling COP30 host \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/www.trtworld.com\/article\/ca61e17d38ba <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Brazilian columnists openly speak of \u201exenophobia\u201c (hostility towards foreigners) and \u201ewhite arrogance\u201c.13<\/a><\/sup> TRT World \u2013 Brazil boils over at Merz's \u2018that place\u2019 remark belittling COP30 host \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/www.trtworld.com\/article\/ca61e17d38ba <\/a><\/span> In comments on DW, ABC and Euronews, users are demanding that Merz apologise or stay away in future.14<\/a><\/sup> Euronews \u2013 German Chancellor Merz criticises Bel\u00e9m, causing concern among Brazilians \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2025\/11\/19\/should-have-gone-to-a-pub-merz-blasts-belem-rattling-brazilians<\/a> <\/span>15<\/a><\/sup> Yahoo News \u2013 German Chancellor Merz criticises Bel\u00e9m, causing concern among Brazilians \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/ca.news.yahoo.com\/gone-pub-merz-blasts-bel-103040301.html <\/a><\/span> No one is simply laughing at an ill-timed joke here \u2013 a country is making it very clear that it no longer wants to serve as a backdrop for the North's self-promotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bel\u00e9m is no joke, but a front line<\/strong>
To understand why this outrage is so intense, you need to take a closer look at Bel\u00e9m. The city lies on the banks of the Rio Guam\u00e1, on the edge of the Amazon basin, in a state where deforestation, land conflicts, extreme heat and poverty reinforce each other.16<\/a><\/sup> Reuters \u2013 COP30 host city Bel\u00e9m, Brazil, tries to stoke economy while preserving Amazon \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/sustainability\/cop\/cop30-host-city-belem-brazil-tries-stoke-economy-while-preserving-amazon-2025-11-21\/ <\/a><\/span>17<\/a><\/sup> KfW \u2013 COP30 in Bel\u00e9m: Where the forest becomes the world stage \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/www.kfw.de\/stories\/environment\/climate-action\/klimaschutz-brasilien\/ <\/a><\/span> Bel\u00e9m is struggling with inadequate sewage disposal, outdated infrastructure and massive social inequalities \u2013 and at the same time with temperatures that, according to scenarios, could remain at levels that are hazardous to health for months on end by 2050.18<\/a><\/sup> Ecologic Institute \u2013 The COP30 Climate Conference in Bel\u00e9m \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/www.ecologic.eu\/20238<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At the same time, the state of Par\u00e1 is attempting to establish an alternative model to the traditional exploitative economy: with bioeconomy parks and cooperatives for a\u00e7a\u00ed, nuts and coffee, which can pay wages three to seven times higher than those in soy cultivation or cattle grazing.19<\/a><\/sup> Reuters \u2013 COP30 host city Bel\u00e9m, Brazil, tries to stoke economy while preserving Amazon \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/sustainability\/cop\/cop30-host-city-belem-brazil-tries-stoke-economy-while-preserving-amazon-2025-11-21\/<\/a> <\/span> Bel\u00e9m is thus a laboratory for testing whether rainforests can really be economically secured as \u201estanding forests\u201c \u2013 and no longer merely as a source of raw materials for the global North. The fact that this city, of all places, has been downgraded by a German head of government to a \u201eplace you want to leave quickly\u201c strikes at the heart of this political project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Brazil nuts, an export product from the Amazon. In Brazil and Latin America, Brazil nuts are called \u201eBrazil nuts\u201c. Chestnuts from Par\u00e1, also known as Brazil nuts (in Portuguese: Castanha-do-Par\u00e1 or Castanha-do-Brasil) Centre of Bel\u00e9m, Par\u00e1, northern Brazil, Bolivia and the Amazon rainforest. \u2013 RHJ<\/a> \/ iStock by GettyImages<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Climate justice meets white gaze<\/strong>
What looks like a shitstorm on international reels is essentially a debate about climate justice. Okay, it was a shitstorm. Nevertheless, Germany is historically one of the world's largest emitters, has become highly industrialised over decades thanks to cheap coal, oil and gas, and still significantly exceeds the global average in terms of per capita greenhouse gas emissions. 20<\/a><\/sup> Federal Environment Agency \u2013 Greenhouse gas emissions in Germany \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/www.umweltbundesamt.de\/daten\/klima\/treibhausgas-emissionen-in-deutschland<\/a> <\/span> 21<\/a><\/sup> Federal Environment Agency \u2013 Germany's greenhouse gas reduction targets \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/www.umweltbundesamt.de\/daten\/klima\/treibhausgasminderungsziele-deutschlands<\/a> <\/span> Brazil, on the other hand, contributes to the crisis through deforestation and fossil fuel use, but its per capita consumption is significantly lower \u2013 and at the same time it is massively affected by the consequences.22<\/a><\/sup> IPCC \u2013 AR6 WGII: Climate Change 2022 \u2013 Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability (Latin America chapter) \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/www.ipcc.ch\/report\/ar6\/wg2\/ <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When a chancellor from Berlin says something along the lines of, \u201eIt was nice to be there for a short while, but no one wants to live there,\u201c that is not neutral. And it is not okay. It says: Our reality, our climate, our cities are the benchmark. Your heat, your poverty, your floods, your fight to protect the forests are exotic, political background, at most a place for a few nice selfies \u2013 but please nothing where anyone would seriously want to stay. That is precisely why Brazilian commentators speak of racism, xenophobia and a \u201enew Berlin Wall\u201c in people's minds.23<\/a><\/sup> TRT World \u2013 Brazil boils over at Merz's \u2018that place\u2019 remark belittling COP30 host \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/www.trtworld.com\/article\/ca61e17d38ba<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Merz's statement sums up what global climate policy is all too often \u2013 a setting in which the global North makes demands, promises funds, sets up funds, but never quite gets to where the front lines of this crisis lie, emotionally and politically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Graphic: Screenshot: Brazil boils over at Merz\u2019s \u201athat place\u2018 remark belittling COP30\u2019s Amazonian host city, TRT World, \u0130stanbul \/ T\u00fcrkiye. Available online at https:\/\/www.trtworld.com\/article\/ca61e17d38ba <\/a>Retrieved on 7 December 2025. Editorial use. 24<\/a><\/sup> TRT World \u2013 Brazil boils over at Merz's \u2018that place\u2019 remark belittling COP30 host \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/www.trtworld.com\/article\/ca61e17d38ba <\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The German response: play it down and move on<\/strong>
While Brazilian media and international broadcasters have been covering the topic for days, the excitement in Germany remains manageable.25<\/a><\/sup> DW \u2013 What did Germany's Chancellor say to make Brazil so upset? \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/germany-chancellor-friedrich-merz-brazil-belem-comments\/a-74803781<\/a> <\/span> A few editorials criticise the faux pas, some comment that Merz is unprofessional, but a broad debate about colonial perspectives, respect and climate justice? Not a chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Chancellor's Office has stated that Merz was simply referring to the \u201eefforts of the trip,\u201c not to Brazil or Bel\u00e9m as such.26<\/a><\/sup> Reuters \u2013 German Chancellor Merz just wanted home, Berlin says after Brazil remark irks \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/german-chancellor-merz-just-wanted-home-berlin-says-after-brazil-remark-irks-2025-11-19\/ <\/a><\/span> No genuine apology is forthcoming, even though Lula, the mayor of Bel\u00e9m and the governor of Par\u00e1 publicly criticise the chancellor. At a later meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit, both sides emphasise that they have \u201ereached an understanding\u201c again \u2013 Merz announces that he wants to dance and try the local cuisine on his next visit to Bel\u00e9m. 27<\/a><\/sup> DW \u2013 Germany\u2019s Merz, Brazil\u2019s Lula reconcile after Bel\u00e9m comments \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/germanys-merz-brazils-lula-reconcile-after-belem-comments\/a-74850206 <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It seems like an attempt to gloss over the issue with a bit of humour. But the clips remain, the international articles remain, and the memory remains of how quickly a German head of government is prepared to ridicule a central venue for global climate policy. And they remain above all in Brazil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Private jets, climate summits and the great double standard<\/strong>
Merz's Bel\u00e9m statement does not exist in a vacuum. Even before COP30, he had attracted criticism for travelling to Brazil in a private jet \u2013 while publicly calling for more \u2019realism\u201e in climate policy and framing climate protection measures in Germany as \u201coverburdening\u201e citizens.28<\/a><\/sup> Euronews \u2013 COP30: \u2018Action not words\u2019 \u2013 criticism of private jet owner Merz \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/de.euronews.com\/video\/2025\/11\/07\/cop30-taten-statt-worte-kritik-an-privatflugzeug-besitzer-merz<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fact that he then doesn't stay in Bel\u00e9m for 24 hours, quickly jets back to Berlin and tells a room full of business officials how happy everyone was to be back \u201efrom this place\u201c is symbolic politics in the worst sense. It fits perfectly with a climate policy that needs international forums to present itself as green \u2013 but is hardly willing to truly share responsibility or relinquish power.29<\/a><\/sup> UNEP \u2013 Emissions Gap Report 2025 \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/www.unep.org\/resources\/emissions-gap-report<\/a> <\/span>30<\/a><\/sup> Federal Environment Agency \u2013 UN Climate Conference COP30: No breakthrough, but small steps \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/www.umweltbundesamt.de\/en\/topics\/un-climate-conference-cop30-no-breakthrough-but <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, Germany is an important source of funding: for the Amazon Fund, for new forest protection financing, and for climate and adaptation programmes. 31<\/a><\/sup> Reuters \u2013 COP30 host city Belem, Brazil, tries to stoke economy while preserving Amazon rainforest \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/reut.rs\/47RluIG<\/a> <\/span> That is precisely why the dissonance is so loud: on the one hand, there are transfers, declarations of intent and promises of funds. On the other hand, there are contemptuous words about the places that are supposed to be involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What all this has to do with us<\/strong>
Perhaps the most uncomfortable aspect of this story is that it holds up a mirror to us, the German public. We are used to viewing global climate conferences as places where \u201ewe\u201c show responsibility, restructure \u201eour\u201c industry and defend \u201eour\u201c climate targets. We talk about German driving bans, heating laws, motorways \u2013 and often forget that the real scene of this crisis lies elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bel\u00e9m reminds us that climate policy is always also global justice policy. That every tonne of CO\u2082 from our coal-fired power stations, cars and aeroplanes increases the risk of droughts, floods and crop failures somewhere else. 32<\/a><\/sup> IPCC \u2013 AR6 Synthesis Report, Summary for Policymakers \ud83c\udf10 https:\/\/www.ipcc.ch\/report\/ar6\/syr\/ <\/a><\/span> And that it is not enough to send money if we simultaneously disparage the people and places we claim to support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many Brazilians, this episode is not just a storm in a teacup. It symbolises a deeper mistrust of climate policy, which talks about \u201epartnership on equal terms\u201c but in practice often sounds like Merz on this Berlin podium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cover image: Hand-drawn cartoon of Sad Boy with lots of unlike symbols on his social media. \u2013 NLshop<\/a> \/ iStock by GettyImages<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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List of sources<\/h3>