US Dismantling World Order It Helped Build, Says German President
BERLIN — German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday delivered unusually strong criticism of the United States, saying it is actively eroding the international order that Washington once helped to build.
In remarks at a symposium in Berlin, Steinmeier, whose role is largely ceremonial but carries significant moral weight, said recent U.S. behaviour represents a “breakdown of values” and a historic rupture similar in scale to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His comments appeared to reference recent U.S. military actions in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, which have drawn global shock and criticism.
“There is the breakdown of values by our most important partner, the USA, which helped build this world order,” Steinmeier said, urging world leaders not to let the international system “turn into a den of robbers, where the most unscrupulous take whatever they want.”
Steinmeier warned that global democracy is under unprecedented strain and called for collective action to defend the rules-based system, urging countries including Brazil and India to play a larger role in safeguarding international norms.
The German leader’s critique marks one of the most direct rebukes of U.S. foreign policy by a European ally in recent memory. A poll published Thursday indicated that 76 % of Germans now feel the United States is not a reliable partner — the lowest level of trust recorded in the survey’s history.
Reactions to the U.S. actions in Venezuela have varied globally, with protests in South Africa condemning the intervention and calling for Maduro’s release.
Steinmeier’s comments add to widening transatlantic tensions over U.S. foreign policy and the future of post-World War II international institutions.
