US Vice President JD Vance sparked controversy by urging German political parties to abandon their long-standing policy of avoiding collaboration with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). Vance argued that democracy requires embracing all voices of the people, regardless of political affiliation. His comments came amidst a heated German election campaign dominated by immigration and security concerns, with the AfD capitalizing on recent attacks blamed on asylum seekers to fuel its anti-migrant agenda.
US Vice President JD Vance urged Germany 's mainstream political parties to abandon their resistance to collaborating with the far right on Friday, February 14th, just hours after Berlin dismissed American 'interference' in its upcoming election. 'Democracy rests on the sacred principle that the voice of the people matters,' Vance stated during a speech at the Munich Security Conference.
'There's no room for firewalls,' he asserted, directly challenging the long-standing stance of Germany's established parties to avoid working with far-right groups. Friedrich Merz, leader of the opposition Christian Democrats and a frontrunner for Germany's next chancellor, was recently accused of violating this taboo when the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) supported a motion he proposed. Earlier on Friday, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit criticized similar remarks Vance had made in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. He argued that outsiders should not be 'meddling in the internal affairs of a friendly country,' adding they 'may not have a full overview of the political debate' in Germany. These comments emerge amidst a German election campaign heavily focused on immigration and security. There have been several high-profile attacks attributed to asylum seekers and migrants, prompting the AfD to escalate its anti-migrant rhetoric. Most recently, an Afghan asylum seeker is suspected of ramming a car into a crowd in Munich on Thursday, injuring 36 people. Polls predict the AfD will achieve its best-ever result, around 20 percent, in the election on February 23rd. Vance also told the Wall Street Journal that the threat to European democracy from online disinformation, including narratives spread by Russia, had been exaggerated. 'If your democratic society can be brought down by US$200,000 of social media ads, then you should seriously consider how strong your grip on or understanding of the will of the people actually is,' he stated. He emphasized, 'And when it goes against our laws, then we will act.' Vance acknowledged the differences in free speech regulations between the US and Germany, stating, 'We here in Germany have a stricter approach to free speech than in the US, on account of our historical experience.' He cited Nazi ideology as an example, saying, 'It can be freely expressed there but which would be strictly forbidden here.
Germany Politics Elections Far Right Afd Immigration Security US Vice President JD Vance Free Speech
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