German Chancellor Olaf Schulz today (Saturday) accused US Vice President JD Vance of unacceptable interference in the upcoming German elections.
Publish dateSunday 16 February 2025 - 10:09
Story Code : 307669
Afghan Voice News Agency (AVA) - International Service: German Chancellor Olaf Schulz yesterday (Saturday) accused US Vice President JD Vance of unacceptable interference in the upcoming German elections on behalf of a party that downplays the crimes of the Nazis 80 years ago.
The New York Times reported: A day after Vance shocked German leaders at the annual Munich Security Conference by calling on them to dismantle their “firewall” and allow the far-right Alternative for Germany party into the federal government, Schulz accused Vance of effectively breaking a pledge to never allow Germany to be run by fascists who could repeat the horrors of the Holocaust.
A pledge to “never again” is incompatible with supporting the Alternative for Germany, Schulz said in a speech at the security conference today.
The Alternative for Germany party, Schulz said, has downplayed Nazi atrocities such as the Dachau concentration camp, which Vance visited last Friday. The German chancellor said the country “will not accept foreign dictates on how to run its democracy and will certainly not cooperate with such a party.”
The New York Times wrote: Schulz's comments were the latest in a string of criticisms of Vance's speech by German politicians, including from Friedrich Mertz of the conservative Christian Democrats, who are leading in polls for next week's chancellorship. The Social Democrats, to which Schulz belongs, are in third or fourth place in most polls. The Alternative for Germany is in second place, and its chancellor candidate, Alice Weidel, met with Vance in Munich last Friday.
The article continued: No party in the German parliament will join the Alternative for Germany to form a government. Parts of the party have been classified as extremist by the German intelligence service. Some of its members have also been convicted of violating German law against the use of Nazi slogans. Some have been arrested for attempting to overthrow the federal government.
The AfD’s collective rejection of other far-right parties is part of an approach known as the “firewall.” Vance criticized the approach on Friday, saying that the AfD and other far-right parties across Europe reflect voters’ legitimate concerns about the high level of immigration to European countries from the Middle East and elsewhere.
“There is no room for a firewall,” Vance said.
Attendees at Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference on Friday were expected to hear details about Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine and NATO’s defense policies. Instead, they heard the vice president say that curbing free speech poses a bigger threat to Europe than potential aggression from Russia or China.
In a question-and-answer session after his speech on the second day of the summit, Schultz chided Vance for focusing on the issue.
He criticized Vance’s speech for not addressing issues related to peace in Ukraine and security in Europe.
He then directly criticized Vance’s comments about curbing free speech in Europe, saying, “We have to be very clear that free speech in Europe means that you don’t attack others in ways that are against the laws and regulations of our countries. That’s the point. We have to be very clear that hatred and things like that, which are very bad for our societies, should not become the reality of our public discourse,” according to ISNA.
The New York Times reported: A day after Vance shocked German leaders at the annual Munich Security Conference by calling on them to dismantle their “firewall” and allow the far-right Alternative for Germany party into the federal government, Schulz accused Vance of effectively breaking a pledge to never allow Germany to be run by fascists who could repeat the horrors of the Holocaust.
A pledge to “never again” is incompatible with supporting the Alternative for Germany, Schulz said in a speech at the security conference today.
The Alternative for Germany party, Schulz said, has downplayed Nazi atrocities such as the Dachau concentration camp, which Vance visited last Friday. The German chancellor said the country “will not accept foreign dictates on how to run its democracy and will certainly not cooperate with such a party.”
The New York Times wrote: Schulz's comments were the latest in a string of criticisms of Vance's speech by German politicians, including from Friedrich Mertz of the conservative Christian Democrats, who are leading in polls for next week's chancellorship. The Social Democrats, to which Schulz belongs, are in third or fourth place in most polls. The Alternative for Germany is in second place, and its chancellor candidate, Alice Weidel, met with Vance in Munich last Friday.
The article continued: No party in the German parliament will join the Alternative for Germany to form a government. Parts of the party have been classified as extremist by the German intelligence service. Some of its members have also been convicted of violating German law against the use of Nazi slogans. Some have been arrested for attempting to overthrow the federal government.
The AfD’s collective rejection of other far-right parties is part of an approach known as the “firewall.” Vance criticized the approach on Friday, saying that the AfD and other far-right parties across Europe reflect voters’ legitimate concerns about the high level of immigration to European countries from the Middle East and elsewhere.
“There is no room for a firewall,” Vance said.
Attendees at Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference on Friday were expected to hear details about Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine and NATO’s defense policies. Instead, they heard the vice president say that curbing free speech poses a bigger threat to Europe than potential aggression from Russia or China.
In a question-and-answer session after his speech on the second day of the summit, Schultz chided Vance for focusing on the issue.
He criticized Vance’s speech for not addressing issues related to peace in Ukraine and security in Europe.
He then directly criticized Vance’s comments about curbing free speech in Europe, saying, “We have to be very clear that free speech in Europe means that you don’t attack others in ways that are against the laws and regulations of our countries. That’s the point. We have to be very clear that hatred and things like that, which are very bad for our societies, should not become the reality of our public discourse,” according to ISNA.
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