Germany Worried for US Democracy Under Trump

In a cable reportedly sent by Andreas Michaelis on Jan. 14 to the Foreign Ministry, the envoy denounced Donald Trump's planned "strategy of maximal disruption" to "redefine the constitutional order."

Michaelis sees Trump as a man driven by "desire for vengeance" and thinks he aims to "maximally concentrate powers" in the presidency, to the detriment of Congress and the states, which would "largely sap" the United States' fundamental democratic principles, according to the cable quoted by Bild.

Questioned about the cable, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock confirmed its existence.

"Of course the embassies write reports, that's their mission, especially during changes of government for us to know what to expect...," Baerbock told the ZDF television channel.

"And the American president has already announced what he intends to do... and of course we have to prepare for that."

In a separate interview published on Jan. 18 in Bild, Lars Klingbeil, the co-leader of the SPD party of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said that while Berlin "needs to work well with each American administration, the first signs that we have had have not been encouraging."

"We will reach out our hand to Donald Trump", he was quoted as saying, but "we must be clear that if he refuses it, we will have to be strong and defend our interests.

Given Trump's frequent trumpeting of the threat of tariffs, Germany fears it could be on the front line of any U.S.-EU trade war.

French PM says Europe could be 'crushed' if it does nothing against Trump

France also expresses concern about Trump's new term.

France and Europe risk being dominated, crushed and marginalised if they do nothing to counter the policies of Donald Trump, the French prime minister said Monday before his inauguration as U.S. president.

"The United States, with the inauguration of the president, has decided on a politics that is incredibly dominating... If we do nothing then our fate will be simple. We will be dominated, we will be crushed, we will be marginalised. It is up to us, French and Europeans," Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said in the southwestern city of Pau.

Source: HDN