(Newswire.net— June 5, 2020) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned the “murder” of African-American George Floyd during his police arrest as an act of “racism” which, as she said, affects “a very polarized American society” Politico reports.
“The killing of George Floyd is very, very terrible,” Merkel said in an interview Thursday on broadcaster ZDF. “Racism is awful and the society in the United States is very polarized.”
Merkel said that “racism still exists” and added that “unfortunately that is also the case in Germany”. She expressed hope that the demonstrations in the United States would remain peaceful.
The four police officers who arrested Floyd in Minneapolis have all been indicted and his death has been reclassified as a murder by a medical examiner in Minesota, as was demanded by hundreds of thousands of Americans who have been protesting for a week, authorities said yesterday.
Asked about US President Donald Trump, Merkel, who has been in power since 2005, answered that as far as she was concerned, political demands have always been to try to gather people and reconcile them.
“I think the political style (of President Trump) is very controversial,” Merkel said. “I work with all elected presidents from all over the world, and of course with the American president. All I can do is hope that we can work together,” said Merkel, who is set to leave the post of Chancellor in 2021.
The German Chancellor has dismissed hints that she could seek a fifth term as head of government or change her mind about promising to leave politics when her current government’s term expires.
Polls show that support for her center-right bloc has been growing since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, after, as it was estimated, they had a good response to the health crisis. Germany has avoided the high mortality rates seen elsewhere in Europe while also avoiding harsh isolation measures applied in many other countries. Merkel’s calm leadership also brought her praise after two years in which her ruling coalition was marked by internal quarrels.
Last month, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, a conservative ally who clashed with Merkel in the past over migrant policy, said that lately, he has been hearing talk about the fifth term for the chancellor more and more often.
Merkel rejected those hints in an interview today for ZDF television. Asked if she would consider running again, she replied “No, no, really not.” When asked to say whether she would stick to her decision, she answered “Very firmly”.
Sixty-five-year-old Merkel, who became chancellor in 2005, announced in October 2018 that she would not ask for a new mandate, but said that she planned to run out the current mandate to the end, which should expire at the end of next year.