The SPD politician and ex-Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel has reiterated his statements about Qatar to the star: “Of course my tweet was provocative and it should be too. Because I’ve been annoyed about the arrogance towards Qatar for some time.” On Saturday, Gabriel wrote on Twitter: “The German arrogance towards Qatar is ‘go…’! How forgetful are we? Homosexuality was punishable in Germany until 1994 (Germany editor’s note).” Many, including several SPD politicians, reacted to the tweet with horror.
“It’s by no means the case that I don’t see what problems there are in Qatar and say that to the Qataris,” Gabriel said to the star. “But I also see what has happened there for the better in recent years. And especially in Germany, that is completely ignored. Instead, we are flooding the country with excessive criticism and unintentionally helping those in Qatar who are opponents of the emir’s reforms .”
These opponents also used attacks from Germany as an excuse to leave everything as it was, says Gabriel: “They now say: ‘No matter what we do, we are always insulted.'” Of course, the country is still a long way away “our standards”: “But we Germans in particular should know that reforms don’t make things right overnight. They come step by step.” Gabriel would like both to be done towards Qatar: “Say what still needs to change. But also respect what has already been achieved. What we have achieved now is that the Qataris are starting to turn a blind eye.”
