Munich (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz responded strongly to U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s statement on the EU’s stance toward hate speech and the far right, stating it was not right for others to tell Germany and Europe what to do.
At a Munich Conference, Scholz said,
“That is not appropriate, especially not among friends and allies. We firmly reject that,”
Adding there were “good reasons” not to work with the AfD.
“Never again fascism, never again racism, never again aggressive war. That is why an overwhelming majority in our country opposes anyone who glorifies or justifies criminal National Socialism,”
Scholz stated, referencing Adolf Hitler’s 1933-45 Nazi regime.
The U.S. Vice President met with the German leader of AfD after supporting the party as a political partner. Germany rejects this stance as unwelcome election interference.
Vance criticised European leaders on the first day of the Munich Security Conference, blaming them for cleansing free speech and condemning German mainstream parties’ “firewall” against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Questioned by the panel chair if he thought there was anything in Vance’s address worth reflecting on, Scholz attracted laughter and cheering in the crowd when he answered, in a deadpan tone:
“You mean all these very relevant discussions about Ukraine and security in Europe?”
How did Scholz reject Vance’s remarks on hate speech?
In response to Vance’s criticism of Europe’s curtailing of hate speech, which he has compared to censorship, Scholz stated:
“Today’s democracies in Germany and Europe are founded on the historic awareness and realisation that democracies can be destroyed by radical anti-democrats.
“And this is why we’ve created institutions that ensure that our democracies can defend themselves against their enemies and rules that do not restrict or limit our freedom but protect it.”
Vance further said the threat to Europe that bothered him most was not Russia or China but what he called a pullback from fundamental values of defending free speech – as well as immigration, which he stated was “out of control” in Europe.
