In the US midterm elections held on 3 November, Democrats were reported to have secured majorities in both chambers of Congress, while Republicans suffered a heavy defeat. Political figures in European capitals said the result had left President Donald Trump as a “lame duck” for the remaining two years of his term.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, speaking at the Berlin Security Conference, said he congratulated the Democrats “from the bottom of my heart” and described their result as a “historic victory”. Pistorius said cooperation based on trust with the Trump administration would have to continue because Trump’s term ends in two years, while adding that Germany would also seek close contact with Democrats. He argued that NATO’s European pillar should be strengthened and acquire a more European identity.
Norbert Röttgen, a leading foreign policy specialist from the CDU, said US voters had punished Trump and delivered a historic victory to Democrats. Dirk Wiese, head of the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag, said the outcome brought hope to efforts against right-wing populism worldwide. Irene Mihalic of the Greens said the result could provide momentum for change, peace, democracy and the rule of law. Left Party co-chair Ines Schwerdtner called it a “devastating defeat for the global right”.
AfD co-chair Alice Weidel pointed to the scale of the Republican defeat and linked it to the Iran war. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said US society had voted against policies that lead to poverty, hatred, machismo, climate denial and elite privilege. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr said voices closer to his own positions were emerging in US politics on climate, the environment, foreign policy and development aid. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said voters had said “no to war”, while Mojtaba Khamenei said US hostility towards Iran would continue regardless of which party is in power.
