SPD politicians under criticism
“I see everything has changed for the better” – Sigmar Gabriel defends Qatar tweet
Is pissed off by “German arrogance”: SPD politician and ex-Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel
© Britta Pedersen / DPA
With a tweet about the World Cup host country Qatar, SPD politician Sigmar Gabriel caused horror. in the star he defends his statements.
The SPD politician and ex-Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel has made his statements about Qatar to the star reiterates: “Of course my tweet was provocative and it should be. Because I’ve been annoyed by the arrogance towards Qatar for some time.” On Saturday, Gabriel wrote on Twitter: “The German arrogance towards Qatar is ‘go…’! How forgetful are we actually? Homosexuality was in Germany until 1994 (Germany, editor’s note) punishable.” Many, including several SPD politicians, reacted to the tweet in horror.
“It’s by no means the case that I don’t see the problems there are in Qatar and say that to the Qataris,” Gabriel said star. “But I also see what has happened there for the better in recent years. And especially in Germany, that is completely ignored. Instead, we are flooding the country with excessive criticism and unintentionally helping those in Qatar who are opponents of the emir’s reforms .”
Sigmar Gabriel wants more respect for Qatar
These opponents also used attacks from Germany as an excuse to leave everything as it was, says Gabriel: “They now say: ‘No matter what we do, we are always insulted.'” Of course, the country is still far away from that “our standards”: “But we Germans in particular should know that reforms don’t make things right overnight. They come step by step.” Gabriel would like both to be done towards Qatar: “Say what still needs to change. But also respect what has already been achieved. What we have achieved now is that the Qataris are starting to turn a blind eye.”