Merz visits wildfire site, tells deniers 'look closely'

Friedrich Merz, the German Chancellor, visited the Hürtgenwald in the Eifel region two days after a wildfire was extinguished, directly addressing climate change deniers.

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I want to tell all climate change deniers: Look closely at what has happened here. This is climate change. We will do everything to push back climate change, but we must also live with climate change.

"I want to tell all climate change deniers: Look closely at what has happened here," Merz stated. "This is climate change. We will do everything to push back climate change, but we must also live with climate change." He added that preparing for this reality is a shared responsibility of the federal government, states, and municipalities. Merz indicated that a thorough analysis of the response would be conducted, with the federal cabinet set to discuss improvements, particularly in communication links.

The visit marked Merz's first public appearance after his summer vacation and drew some criticism for its timing. Several representatives from the North Rhine-Westphalia state government had already visited the site, including Minister-President Hendrik Wüst, who interrupted his own vacation the previous week. Merz's brief address to local firefighters was met with whistles and boos. He dismissed the hecklers, stating, "I am not impressed by those who shout around. I speak with those who work. I speak with those who help."

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I am not impressed by those who shout around. I speak with those who work. I speak with those who help.

Merz expressed gratitude to the emergency responders, acknowledging that the outcome would not have been so favorable without their collaboration. He praised "great organizations" and the "millions of people in Germany" involved in volunteer work, without whom, he said, the community could not be sustained.

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Without the cooperation between all these participants, it would not have ended so favorably.

The District Administrator of Düren, Ralf Nolten, defended Merz, explaining that he had requested the Chancellor not to visit during the active fire. Nolten quoted a firefighter saying, "I don't need politicians, I need people who hold the hose." He urged those protesting to join organizations like the THW, fire department, or Red Cross, receiving prolonged applause for his remarks. Merz confirmed he had spoken with Nolten multiple times and offered to visit earlier, but was asked to come after the fire was out.

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I don't need politicians, I need people who hold the hose.