Thursday, January 06, 2022
After meeting Pelosi
Baerbock calls for the protection of democracy
A year after the attack on the US Capitol, Secretary of State Baerbock also meets the Chairwoman of the House of Representatives, Pelosi, on her inaugural visit to the US. Democracy does not fall from the sky, she emphasizes after the conversation as one of the lessons from what happened.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called for greater commitment to democracy ahead of the first anniversary of the storming of the US Capitol. “A year ago as Germans, as Europeans, we all looked to Washington in deep, deep friendship and shaken,” said Baerbock on Wednesday on her inaugural visit to Washington. “Not only did this not leave this city untouched, but also not many people in Germany.”
Understanding that “democracy does not fall from the sky, but that democracy needs strong democrats” is one of the lessons of January 6, 2021, said Baerbock after a meeting with the chairman of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi. Democracy needs “time and again to stand up for human rights, for civil rights, for the rule of law”, but also “a commitment to state institutions, funding of state institutions”.
Radical supporters of the elected US President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol as the victory of the Democrat Joe Biden in the presidential election of November 2020 was to be certified there. The storming of the seat of Congress caused horror worldwide and is considered a black day in the history of US democracy.
Many Republicans are absent from the memorial
The United States will celebrate the first anniversary of the storming of the Capitol on Thursday. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will deliver speeches in the Statue Hall of Congress. Speeches by Nancy Pelosi, a minute’s silence and a discussion with historians about the events of January 6th are also planned.
Many MPs from Trump’s opposition Republicans will, however, stay away from the memorial services. The ex-president himself had originally announced a press conference for Thursday, but then canceled it. To this day, Trump spreads the often refuted claim that he was deprived of a second term through alleged massive electoral fraud.
Federal Foreign Minister Baerbock made her one-day inaugural visit to Washington on Wednesday. Her meeting with her US colleague Antony Blinken focused in particular on the Ukraine crisis. In Washington, Baerbock repeated her warning to Russia against an invasion of Ukraine. Should it come to “further escalation, aggression and, above all, to a breach of sovereignty”, it would “have dramatic diplomatic and economic consequences”.