Overview
- Government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said the chancellor would not apologize and framed the comment as praising Germany as one of the world’s most beautiful countries.
- Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva rebuked Merz, saying he should have experienced Pará’s culture and cuisine, quipping that Berlin offers less than 10 percent of Belém’s quality.
- Local officials in Brazil condemned the remark, with Belém’s mayor calling it arrogant and prejudiced and Rio’s mayor posting an insult he later deleted.
- Environment Minister Carsten Schneider engaged in damage control by publicly praising Brazil and meeting local partners, as domestic critics in Germany, including Greens and civil-society groups, urged an apology.
- Merz’s brief COP30 stop included a pledge of a ‘notable’ contribution to Brazil’s tropical-forest fund without naming an amount, and he said he expects an untroubled conversation with Lula at the G20 in Johannesburg.