The chancellery attributes Friedrich Merz’s (CDU) widely criticized tweet about Germany’s men’s national team World Cup exit to a ‘coordination error’. A chancellery official said the mistake was ‘very regrettable’. The tweet was published shortly after Germany’s 3-4 penalty shootout loss to Paraguay and drew mockery.
According to a report by Tagesspiegel, several versions of a social media response from the chancellor had been prepared at the Federal Press Office. During the night, the wrong tweet was published against prior agreements. The original post read: ‘Even though the elimination hurts: What a game, @DFB_Team! With your commitment and team spirit at this World Cup, you have thrilled our country. We are proud of you.’ Fans and political rivals reacted with scorn, including FDP MEP Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann.
Merz countered the criticism with another tweet: ‘We celebrate successes together. And in defeat, we stand together. That makes us strong. Whoever wears the eagle on their chest deserves our support, not our mockery.’
Source: www.spiegel.de
