Chancellor Friedrich Merz faces mockery over praise of Germany’s ousted World Cup team

BERLIN - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz found himself the object of ridicule on June 30 after showering the country’s national football team with praise in the wake of a humbling exit from the World Cup.

“What a game!” Merz wrote on X, just after the four-time world champions were eliminated in a major upset by Paraguay.

“With your commitment and team spirit at this World Cup, you have thrilled our country. We are proud of you.”

Merz’s effusive support for Germany’s team – known sometimes as Die Mannschaft – prompted widespread mockery online, with many questioning whether he actually watched the penalty shootout defeat.

Merz’s post topped the website of the widely read Bild newspaper. One headline called the post “a disaster” and another said “the chancellor is making a fool of himself”.

Others were quick to link Merz’s rosy view of Germany’s defeat to his attitude towards other crises facing the country, including a stagnant economy, industrial decline and an increasingly fraught strategic position.

The chancellor, a centre-right Christian Democrat, has repeatedly announced grand plans for sweeping reforms – only to be accused of failing to actually deliver change.

Merz sought to defend his remarks in a subsequent X post on the afternoon of June 30.

“We celebrate our successes together. And in defeat, we stand together. That is what makes us strong,” Merz wrote.

“Anyone who wears the eagle on their chest deserves our support, not our ridicule,” he wrote, referring to the animal that symbolises the German state and which appears on the national team’s jerseys.

Those thoughts likewise met a hostile audience, at least on the rancorous social media platform, with critics piling into Merz’s replies to mock the politician and criticise the performance of the country’s footballers. AFP