German Economy Minister Robert Habeck canceled a planned trip to Portugal that was to include attending Europe’s biggest tech conference, as a firestorm over comments by the event’s founder continues to rage.
The decision comes after more than 300 Israeli entrepreneurs wrote an open letter on Wednesday to Habeck calling for a boycott of Web Summit. It also follows the unexpected resignation of Portugal’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa on Tuesday amid a series of raids as part of a corruption probe.
“This was decided on the basis of an overall assessment, particularly in light of the current political events in Portugal,” a ministry spokeswoman said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. “The discussion about the Web Summit also played a role.”
Many investors pulled out of Web Summit after its founder Paddy Cosgrave last month criticized western support of Israel on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter. They were followed by numerous companies, including Google parent Alphabet Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Intel Corp. Cosgrave subsequently resigned as the event’s chief executive officer.
Read More: Web Summit Co-Founders Call on Ousted CEO Cosgrave to Sell Stake
Habeck’s presence at the Web Summit would send “a contradictory signal, especially to our flourishing Israeli business community, which makes an important contribution to Germany’s business and industry,” according to the open letter, which was published by Germany’s Stern magazine.
Web Summit is scheduled to begin on Nov. 13 in Lisbon.
