For the chairman of the Munich Security Conference, Wolfgang Ischinger, the outcome of the US midterms offers no reason for euphoria in Europe: “I actually warn against howls of victory or gloating over this Republican defeat,” said the former ambassador in an interview with WELT TV. The election result means neither a “great liberation” for Europe nor a return to an earlier, supposedly better state.
However, the election result opens up an opportunity for Ischinger to strengthen relations with the USA in the long term. Ischinger is relying primarily on the numerous new members of the future congress. Europe must do everything in its power to invite as many of the new senators and representatives to Europe and Germany and to encourage them to visit Ukraine. “We have to get these people interested in Europe,” said Ischinger.
Ischinger also expects significant disputes regarding the future relationship between US President Donald Trump and Congress. “What will happen there will definitely not be subject to entertainment tax,” is Ischinger’s forecast. Trump and Congress would “get into a fight.” According to Ischinger, the president will not hesitate to veto any bill he doesn't like. “Of course we shouldn’t expect this president to be contained.”
AfD leader Weidel considers defeat “remarkable”
AfD leader Alice Weidel, who is close to Trump's MAGA camp, also commented on the Republicans' defeat and attributed it to the US president's foreign policy. “Trump had promised his voters not to pursue an interventionist foreign policy,” Weidel told the “T-online” portal: “This broken promise has now fallen on the Republicans’ feet.”
The CDU foreign policy expert and deputy parliamentary group leader of the Union, Norbert Röttgen, sees the Republicans' defeat as an opportunity to have a "moderating" effect on Trump. Germany must now seize this opportunity, said Röttgen on the WELT TV news channel.
The Democratic election victory was “big, really enormous, almost historically big,” said Röttgen. This severity of the defeat may have an impact on Trump's policies, which could be in Germany's interests. “It could have a moderating influence on his policies.”
From Röttgen's perspective, Trump's cardinal mistake was the Iran war. "He lost this election at America's gas stations because the price of gasoline and diesel is so high. And it's so high because he made a devastating policy, namely starting a war against Iran." In doing so, Trump broke two promises: "Firstly, to make life, the cost of life, cheaper for normal citizens. And secondly, not to get involved in wars that only bring disadvantages to America. And they have now paid him back for these repeatedly broken promises that the Americans now have to pay for. And that is why it is very, very much his defeat."
Laschet sees midterms as proof that democracy is working
The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bundestag, Armin Laschet (CDU), sees the Democrats' election victory as proof of the functioning of democracy. "Some have said: 'The MAGA movement will now march through and destroy everything that is there,'" he said on WELT TV. "It became clear today: American citizens have used their rights, expressed their displeasure with the president and now have a whole new majority." The result was “already a very big election victory for the Democrats,” which he had not expected to be so clear, said Laschet.
The parliamentary director of the SPD parliamentary group, Dirk Wiese, saw the Democrats' victory in the US midterm elections as a hopeful sign against global right-wing populism. The result shows “that this right-wing populist wave can also be broken,” said Wiese. The Democrats achieved a “landslide victory” that exceeded his expectations. This also gives hope for closer alliances with partners like Canada.
