 |
| IMAGEM DE OVOODOCORVO |
Berlin lets mask slip on feelings for Trump’s
America
The crisis has convinced Germans that Trump is not
just untrustworthy, but dangerous.
By MATTHEW
KARNITSCHNIG AND JUDITH MISCHKE 4/6/20, 9:36 PM CET Updated 4/7/20, 8:11 AM CET
BERLIN —
Late last week in Bangkok, a shipping container holding thousands of masks
destined for the German capital was redirected at the last minute.
As far as
Berlin’s city elders are concerned, there wasn’t any doubt about who was to
blame: the “Amis.” And not just any Amis (German slang for Americans, not to be
confused with French ami, or friend), but the orange-skinned,
commander-in-chief variety.
“The
actions of the U.S. president do not just betray a lack of solidarity, they are
inhumane and irresponsible,” Berlin Mayor Michael Müller, a Social Democrat,
thundered on Twitter.
Andreas
Geisel, Berlin’s interior minister, went even further, accusing the U.S. of
“confiscating” the masks in Thailand.
If Germans
didn’t trust President Donald Trump before the coronavirus outbreak, the crisis
has convinced them that he’s not just untrustworthy, but dangerous, driven by
an unyielding “America First” instinct that puts other countries and their
citizens at risk. That such accusations should emanate from Berlin, a city the
U.S. saved from Soviet domination during the Berlin Airlift, underscores the
depth of distrust for the American president.
American
officials told POLITICO they have no information about any mask shipment bound
for Germany from Bangkok that was then redirected to the United States.
“This isn’t
the hour for the will of the strongest to prevail, but for solidarity and
cooperation,” said German conservative Norbert Röttgen, chairman of
parliament’s foreign affairs committee and a candidate to succeed Angela Merkel
as chancellor.
Even as
Washington has scrambled to debunk the story (and a similar unsubstantiated
tale involving masks bound for France last week), it’s been tough going because
what Berlin is alleging sounds just like something Trump would do. Germans are
still seething over an apparent attempt by Trump last month to quietly secure
the rights to a coronavirus vaccine under development in Germany.
“We consider this to be an act of modern
piracy,” Geisel told Berlin daily Tagesspiegel on Friday, referring to the
alleged mask caper. “This is no way to treat transatlantic partners. Even in
times of global crisis, we shouldn’t resort to the tactics of the Wild West.”
This time,
though, it was the Berliners who shot before asking questions.
Not only is
there no evidence that the U.S. confiscated the masks in Thailand (where
Washington has no jurisdiction), so far there’s no proof that the shipment in
question even ended up in the U.S.
American
officials told POLITICO they have no information about any mask shipment bound
for Germany from Bangkok that was then redirected to the U.S. They point out
that with virtually every country in the world facing a shortage of protective
gear, the competition for masks and other equipment is intense. American states
and cities have also been competing with one another for supplies, including
ventilators, a process New York Governor Andrew Cuomo compared to “being on
eBay.”
Given the
scale of U.S. needs, Berlin’s 200,000 masks would hardly seem to be worth the
trouble.
“The U.S.
is significantly increasing production of material domestically while working
through appropriate channels to purchase excess supplies from other countries
to meet our needs,” a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Germany said.
Berlin
isn’t buying it.
“The fact
is, we ordered 200,000 protective masks. We paid for the order and it was on
its way to Berlin,” Geisel, who oversees Berlin’s police force, said Monday.
A Social
Democrat who belonged to the former East Germany’s communist party until 1989,
Geisel said in a television interview that he had “nothing to take back.”
Even Merkel
has declined to give Washington the benefit of the doubt.
“For me,
it’s important that we get to the bottom of it,” she said during a press
conference on Monday. “We have contradictory statements out there, but I think
it should be possible to clear it up.”
Even Merkel
has declined to give Washington the benefit of the doubt | Pool image by
Christian Marquardt/Getty Images
So far,
that's proved tricky.
What is
known is that Berlin police placed an order for at least 200,000 “FFP-2” masks,
which provide more protection than conventional surgical masks, from a German
medical supplier. The supplier, which Berlin officials have yet to name,
ordered the masks in Asia.
Just as the
masks, which had been paid for in advance, were about to be dispatched from
Bangkok to Germany, the order was redirected to the U.S., according to Martin
Pallgen, a spokesman for Berlin’s interior ministry.
But Pallgen
and other Berlin officials are relying on information provided by the unnamed
supplier, who they say told the city’s police department that the masks were
redirected as a result of a “U.S. directive.”
That
explanation rang true following Trump’s move last week to invoke the Defense Production
Act against 3M, a leading U.S. mask producer, compelling the company to provide
more masks to the U.S. market. 3M produces many of its masks in Asia.
In other
words, the Berliners are taking a page straight out of the Trump playbook and
not letting facts get in the way of a good story.
Thing is,
3M says it has no record of any order from Berlin. And the U.S. insisted on
Monday that it didn’t “take any action to divert any 3M supplies that were
destined to Germany.”
In other
words, since the city’s order wasn’t with 3M, it wouldn’t have been affected by
the Trump directive.
Berlin says
it never claimed 3M was involved (it was “the media” that did) and doesn’t know
who the manufacturer of the missing masks was.
In other
words, the Berliners are taking a page straight out of the Trump playbook and
not letting facts get in the way of a good story.
“Whether
they were confiscated or cancelled or if someone came with a suitcase full of
cash and redirected them to the U.S., our masks ended up in the U.S.,” Geisel
said, offering no further details or evidence.
Still, it’s
not all bad news for Berlin. The city said on Monday it managed to secure a new
shipment of masks for its police — from China.
CORRECTION:
This story has been updated to correct the name of the governor of New York
state.
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário