""Ladies and gentlemen, we live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Last week, I asked some journalists who were with me in Brazil: 'Who among you would like to stay here?' No one raised their hand. Everyone was delighted to be back in Germany and to have left that place," Merz said."
"Some observers in Germany believe that with this comparison, he meant to suggest that Germany has first-world problems which pale in comparison to the world's poorest places. At the event, Merz spoke about the numerous challenges facing German society: the increasingly unaffordable pension system, the crumbling infrastructure, and the polarization of society. He then connected this to his brief impression of Belem, which is among the poorest places in Brazil. In Brazil, his words were received quite differently."
Chancellor Friedrich Merz attended a United Nations climate conference in Belem, Brazil, for only a few hours. After returning to Germany, he told journalists at a Berlin trade conference that he had asked accompanying reporters in Brazil: 'Who among you would like to stay here?' and that no one raised a hand, adding everyone was delighted to be back in Germany and to have left that place. Merz linked that impression to domestic problems including an unaffordable pension system, crumbling infrastructure, and growing polarization. Observers in Germany interpreted the comparison as implying Germany's problems are minor compared with poorer regions. In Belem, the mayor criticized the remarks as arrogant and prejudiced.
Read at www.dw.com
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