The end of SPD, of Germany and of the EU: Nothing serious to say, nothing to propose!

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas is critical of the way the United States, China and Hungary have gone about tackling the coronavirus. China, he says, “has taken some very authoritarian measures, while in the U.S., the virus was played down for a long time.” These are extreme models, he adds, neither of which can serve as a model for Europe. The European Union’s approach, Maas says, “show that even liberal democracies can impose drastic measures if they are proportionate and necessary.” He also urges citizens to oppose negative propaganda and not to undermine the value of the EU by blaming Brussels for everything that goes wrong. “What’s that all about? When things don’t work out, it’s our own fault.”

DER SPIEGEL: Minister Maas, you traveled so much before the corona crisis that you overtook your predecessors Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Joschka Fischer and Frank-Walter Steinmeier in total annual miles flown. Now you’re not traveling at all. Is this affecting Germany’s foreign policy?

Maas: Even in normal times, success in foreign policy is not measured by air miles. What it requires is trust and personal encounters. At the moment, I’m communicating with my EU partners and international actors just like we are for this interview: via telephone and video conference. It takes some getting used to. I prefer to look my colleagues directly in the eye.