Vance lashes out at allies Trump's Vice President warns of "firewalls" in Europe

It is an unprecedented attack on the European allies: Trump's vice accuses them of endangering democracy - and uses a term central to the German election campaign.

DPA

14.02.2025, 21:01

14.02.2025, 22:09

dpa

At the Munich Security Conference, US Vice President J.D. Vance made an unusually harsh attack on European allies and warned them of a threat to democracy. He made an indirect reference to the German debate on distancing oneself from the AfD: "There is no room for firewalls," he said. "Democracy is based on the sacred principle that the voice of the people counts." Either you uphold this principle or you don't.

Vance quoted Pope John Paul II, who he said had been one of the most extraordinary champions of democracy, as saying: "We should not be afraid of our citizens, even if they express views that are not in line with their leadership."

Pistorius: "This is not acceptable"

In his subsequent speech, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius rejected the attacks in no uncertain terms. "If I have understood him correctly, he is comparing conditions in parts of Europe with those in authoritarian regimes," said the SPD politician. "That is unacceptable and that is not the Europe and not the democracy in which I live and for which I am currently campaigning."

In this democracy, every opinion has a voice. "It allows extremist parties like the AfD to campaign as normal. Just like any other party. That is democracy," said Pistorius.

Vance counters the Europeans' accusations with a counter-attack

The Minister of Defense was sitting in the audience when Vance spoke. It had actually been expected that he would address the pressing security policy issues - from efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine to burden-sharing in defense spending. However, he practically skipped security policy altogether and instead devoted himself to the topic of democracy.

In doing so, he countered accusations from Europeans with a memorable counterattack. President Donald Trump's new US administration has met with massive reservations from most governments in the EU due to its handling of the rule of law and democracy. After his election defeat in 2020, the billionaire did not recognize the election result and incited his supporters to attack parliament in order to overturn the election result. It is also Trump who is now testing the limits of the constitutional system at a dizzying speed and scale in his second term of office.

The president is completely turning the state apparatus upside down, dismissing federal employees on a grand scale who do not unconditionally toe his line, stopping US financial programs at home and abroad without the approval of Congress, denying access to unpopular journalists and thus restricting the freedom of the press.

"There's a new sheriff in town in Washington"

Vance tried to turn the tables in his Munich speech. He accused European allies of prosecuting expressions of opinion as disinformation. Building up defense capabilities is certainly important, he said. But he was not primarily concerned about external actors. "I'm concerned about the danger from within that Europe could retreat from some of the fundamental values, values that are shared with the US," he said.

Vance sees immigration as the most pressing problem for Europe and the United States. He referred to the suspected attack in Munich, in which an Afghan drove a car into a group of demonstrators the previous day.

"How many times do we have to suffer these appalling setbacks before we change course?" No voter in Europe voted to "open the floodgates to millions of unvetted immigrants", he said. The US government of President Donald Trump is taking a tough line on migration policy and is stepping up the detention and deportation of people without a residence permit. Vance praised the Trump system with the sentence: "There's a new sheriff in town in Washington."

Steinmeier criticizes US government with "different world view"

Shortly before the US Vice President's appearance, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier sharply criticized the US government. "The new American administration has a different view of the world than we do. One that takes no account of established rules, partnership and trust," he said in his opening speech. It will therefore be a central task in the coming years to preserve the idea of an international community, he warned.

Criticism of the exclusion of AfD and BSW from MSC

The term "firewall" stands for the exclusion of coalitions with the AfD. Ever since the CDU/CSU pushed a paper on migration policy through the Bundestag with the support of the party, which has been classified by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as partly far-right, there has been a debate about whether this firewall is shaking.

Vance had already expressed his criticism of the exclusion of the AfD in Germany in an interview with the Wall Street Journal shortly before his speech. The US media outlet had quoted him as saying that he would urge German politicians to work with all parties, including the AfD.

He did not repeat this in his speech. However, he criticized the organizers of the Security Conference (MSC) for excluding the AfD and BSW. If political leaders represented an important constituency, "it is our duty to at least participate in dialog with them", he said. Conference chair Christoph Heusgen had justified the exclusion on the grounds that both parties did not comply with the conference's basic principle of "peace through dialog".

Vance meets Merz, but not Scholz

Before his speech, Vance met with Steinmeier, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) and Head of the Chancellery Wolfgang Schmidt - but not Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Instead, he met with opposition leader and CDU candidate for chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) - a delicate decision in the middle of the election campaign.

Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said that there were "no matches" in the schedules of Vance and Scholz. Scholz will only arrive on Saturday, after the US Vice President's departure.

Mood already at a low point before the conference

Trump had already brought the mood between the USA and Europe to a low point before the conference. First, he snubbed the EU by announcing punitive tariffs on steel and aluminum. Then he brought a large number of his allies to the barricades with his sensational phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and an uncoordinated offer to negotiate. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas called it a "dirty deal" - and Scholz warned against a "dictated peace".

In terms of security policy, Vance left many questions unanswered: What will happen with the punitive tariffs? Will Trump withdraw US troops from Europe? What will become of his demand that alliance partners spend five percent of their economic strength on defense?