German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier speaks at the Körber Foundation symposium entitled "Democracy as a Mission" marking his 70th birthday at the Akademie der Künste on Pariser Platz in Berlin, Germany, on January 7, 2026. Photo: VCG

The German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has strongly criticised US foreign policy under President Donald Trump and urged the world not to let the world order disintegrate into a "den of robbers" where the unscrupulous take what they want, Reuters reported on Thursday. 

In unusually strong remarks, which appeared to refer to actions such as the ousting of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro at the weekend, the former foreign minister said global democracy was being attacked as never before, according to Reuters. 

The Guardian reported on Thursday that Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned the postwar rules-based international order could soon disintegrate, and said that the German President was widely presumed to be referring to last weekend's US raid on Caracas and capture of the Venezuelan leader, Nicolás Maduro, and to Trump's repeatedly stated aim of taking control of Greenland.

According to The Straits Times, although the German president's role is largely ceremonial, his words carry some weight and he has more freedom to express views than politicians.

Steinmeier, speaking on Wednesday night at a symposium in Berlin to mark his 70th birthday, said global democracy was at risk. He said that there had been a "breakdown of values" by Germany's most important partner, the US, adding that "it is about preventing the world from turning into a robber's den, where the most unscrupulous take whatever they want," according to the Guardian.

Steinmeier also said that the erosion of the world order had already reached an advanced stage. Smaller, weaker states risked becoming "completely defenceless," and entire regions could be treated "as the property of a few great powers," per the Guardian.

Reuters also said in the same report that a poll on Thursday for public broadcaster ARD indicated 76 percent of Germans surveyed now felt the US was not a partner that Germany could rely on, an increase of 3 percentage points since June 2025. Only 15 percent felt Germany could now trust the US, the lowest level recorded in the regular survey of attitudes.

The survey found 69 percent of Germans concerned about security in Europe, about the same number that thought NATO partners could not rely on the protection of the US, according to Reuters. 


Global Times