German MPs Demand Expulsion of US Envoy Over Interfering Remarks

Richard Grenell's controversial statements sent waves across Berlin when the US ambassador told Breitbart that he is overjoyed by the "European groundswell of conservative policies" that has come about because of the "failed policies of the left." He also said he wanted to "empower" conservatives on the continent.

The German foreign ministry responded by seeking clarification from the US, while MPs were quick to speak their minds regarding Grenell's comments. Some are even calling for him to be expelled over the matter.

The bluntest statements have come from the chief of the far-left Linke party, Sahra Wagenknecht. "Someone like US ambassador Richard Grenell, who thinks he can lord over Europe and determine who is governing here, can no longer stay in Germany as a diplomat," she told Die Welt daily. "If the government takes the democratic sovereignty of our country seriously, then it shouldn't just invite Grenell to a chat over coffee, but expel him immediately."

Senior center-left MP and former European Parliament President Martin Schulz also chimed in, telling the German Press Agency that "Grenell does not behave like a diplomat, but like a far-right colonial officer." He added that "if the German ambassador in Washington would say that he is there to strengthen the Democrats, he would be expelled straight away."

Meanwhile, Ralf Stegner, the chief of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, referred to Grenell as an "election fighter for right-wing parties."

“European citizens don't need a Trump vassal to tell them who to vote for. A US ambassador who meddles in the democratic process to such a degree is simply misplaced," SPD MP Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel said.

Grenell's comments come amid already strained ties between Berlin and Washington, following US President Donald Trump's departure from the Iran nuclear deal and tariffs on European aluminum and steel. It also comes after German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that Europe must take its fate into its own hands, as it can no longer rely on the US for protection.