Merkel partly blames Trump for storming of Capitol building

Berlin (dpa) - Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) has partly blamed outgoing US President Donald Trump for the storming of the Capitol in Washington by his supporters. The disturbing images of the storming of Congress had made her "angry and also sad", Merkel said on Thursday at the closed meeting of the CSU parliamentary group at the Bundestag in Berlin. "I very much regret that President Trump has refused to admit defeat since November, and that he did so again yesterday. Doubts about the outcome of the election were fuelled." This, she said, had created the atmosphere that allowed the night's events to become possible.

"A basic rule of democracy is that there are winners and losers after elections," Merkel said. "Both have to play their roles with decency and a sense of responsibility, so that democracy itself remains the winner."

At the same time, Merkel also expressed confidence in President-elect Biden. Biden's words and many reactions from both major parties in the US "make me quite certain, however: this democracy will prove much stronger than the attackers and rioters." She said it was tragic that people had lost their lives during the night’s events. "But for me it is a sign of hope that the Congress continued its work through the night." Now, she added, the confirmation of the election victory of Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris is certain. "The United States of America will begin a new chapter in its democracy in less than two weeks, as indeed it should," Merkel said.

On Wednesday, protests by angry Trump supporters escalated in the capital Washington, temporarily plunging the US political centre into unprecedented chaos. According to the police, four people were killed in the riots.

More about Germany and its relations to the USA