Germany’s G20 street chaos puts political heat on Merkel

Raging street battles that marred Germany's G20 summit have sparked a political fight over how Hamburg could descend into "mob rule" and why Chancellor Angela Merkel chose a hotbed of leftist militancy as the venue, reports AFP from Hamburg. Germany's top-selling Bild daily was withering in its condemnation of the chaos that saw far-left and anarchist radicals torch rows of cars, loot shops and hurl rocks and bottles from burning barricades at riot police.

"One should use with caution the words 'failure of the state'. Sadly, it applies in Hamburg," the newspaper thundered Saturday, slamming the summit as a "debacle".

"Of course the police did all it could. But the street belonged to the mob. The feeling of general security that the state must guarantee has ceased to exist in Hamburg over the last 48 hours."

The harsh criticism came as 20,000 police in the city where Merkel was born kept watch on tens of thousands of demonstrators against the meeting where she hosted US President Donald Trump, Russia's Vladimir Putin and other world leaders.

Just behind the tightly-secured G20 summit venue, charred road barricades, trashed shops and stones, debris and shattered glass bore testimony to an anarchic night, when police commandoes with semi-automatic weapons detained militants who hurled rocks from rooftops.

"The terrible message of Hamburg is: When the mob wants to rule, it will," said Bild. One police union blamed Merkel and Hamburg mayor Olaf Scholz for allowing the chaos, which left over 200 police and as yet unknown numbers of protesters injured, and for choosing the city in the first place. "The politicians carry the sole responsibility for the many injured police officers and the destruction across the city," the union's Hamburg chairman Jan Reinecke told news weekly Der Spiegel.

Criticism also came from Merkel's conservative camp, with Bavarian CSU politician Hans-Peter Uhl charging that "the G20 summit should never have been held in a city of millions like Hamburg. Security is way too difficult to control there."

Merkel's government had long argued that it chose the northern port city, which dubs itself Germany's cosmopolitan "Gateway to the world", because it symbolised G20 core values from open trade to an internationalist outlook.

Rather than choose a remote rural location, as has been the norm in recent years, G20 leaders would show they are not a power elite that hides away from the people.

Some also saw the G20 summit, years in the planning, as a dress-rehearsal as Hamburg bid for the 2024 Olympics -- an effort the people of Hamburg later torpedoed in a referendum.

Finally, there was the question of logistics, officials explained: no countryside retreat, island or cruise ship is big enough to host a mega-event with over 10,000 delegates.

After the G20 ended Saturday, Merkel pledged speedy and unbureaucratic compensation to victims of the "unrestrained brutality" of rioters.

Germanys G20 street chaos puts political heat on Merkel

Raging street battles that marred Germanys G20 summit have sparked a political fight over how Hamburg could descend into mob rule and why Chancellor Angela Merkel chose a hotbed of leftist militancy as the venue, reports AFP from Hamburg. Germanys top-selling Bild daily was withering in its condemnation of the chaos that saw far-left and anarchist radicals torch rows of cars, loot shops and hurl rocks and bottles from burning barricades at riot police. One should use with caution the words failure of the state. Sadly, it applies in Hamburg, the newspaper thundered Saturday, slamming the summit as a debacle. Of course the police did all it could. But the street belonged to the mob. The feeling of general security that the state must guarantee has ceased to exist in Hamburg over the last 48 hours. The harsh criticism came as 20,000 police in the city where Merkel was born kept watch on tens of thousands of demonstrators against the meeting where she hosted US President Donald Trump, Russias Vladimir Putin and other world leaders. Just behind the tightly-secured G20 summit venue, charred road barricades, trashed shops and stones, debris and shattered glass bore testimony to an anarchic night, when police commandoes with semi-automatic weapons detained militants who hurled rocks from rooftops. The terrible message of Hamburg is: When the mob wants to rule, it will, said Bild. One police union blamed Merkel and Hamburg mayor Olaf Scholz for allowing the chaos, which left over 200 police and as yet unknown numbers of protesters injured, and for choosing the city in the first place. The politicians carry the sole responsibility for the many injured police officers and the destruction across the city, the unions Hamburg chairman Jan Reinecke told news weekly Der Spiegel. Criticism also came from Merkels conservative camp, with Bavarian CSU politician Hans-Peter Uhl charging that the G20 summit should never have been held in a city of millions like Hamburg. Security is way too difficult to control there. Merkels government had long argued that it chose the northern port city, which dubs itself Germanys cosmopolitan Gateway to the world, because it symbolised G20 core values from open trade to an internationalist outlook. Rather than choose a remote rural location, as has been the norm in recent years, G20 leaders would show they are not a power elite that hides away from the people. Some also saw the G20 summit, years in the planning, as a dress-rehearsal as Hamburg bid for the 2024 Olympics -- an effort the people of Hamburg later torpedoed in a referendum. Finally, there was the question of logistics, officials explained: no countryside retreat, island or cruise ship is big enough to host a mega-event with over 10,000 delegates. After the G20 ended Saturday, Merkel pledged speedy and unbureaucratic compensation to victims of the unrestrained brutality of rioters.