Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany on Saturday accused Vice President JD Vance of blocking unacceptably in his country’s forthcoming elections on behalf of a party that has played the atrocities committed by the Nazis 80 years ago.
The day after Mr Vance was amazed at the Munich Security Congress, telling German leaders to abandon the so -called protection wall and allow the alternative to Germany or AFD to enter their federal government, Mr Scholz accused K. Vance for effectively violating a commitment to never allow Germany to be driven by fascists who could repeat the Holocaust horror.
“The commitment to” Never Again “is not a compromise with the support of the AfD,” Mr Scholz told the conference on Saturday morning, in a address that opens the second day of the rally.
Mr Scholz said that AfD had horrific Nazi atrocities such as the Dachau concentration camp, which Mr Vance visited on Friday. The Chancellor said Germany “would not accept” proposals from strangers on how to run its Republic – or instructions to work with such a party.
“This is not the case, certainly not among friends and allies,” Mr Scholz said. “Where our democracy goes from here is to decide.”
Participants in Mr Vance were waiting to hear details of Trump’s plans for Ukraine’s peace talks and NATO defense policies. On Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine put Ukraine’s focus on his observations, defining the threat by Russian military and making a passionate appeal to Europeans to take their safety in their hands, including ” The army of Europe ‘that would have completed our power in Epirus.
His speech drew upright spawning, as opposed to Mr Vance’s speech the day before.
Mr Scholz’s comments underlined the growing concern among Europe’s leaders about their relationship with the United States and their own domestic policy. They came as leaders confused at the Summit to formulate a response to President Trump’s sudden shift to Ukraine’s policy – and the possibility of reducing the continent from the negotiations.
Just a few days before Mr Vance’s observations, Mr Trump threatened to impose new invoices on almost every country with which the United States is negotiating. He then talked about the negotiation of the Russian war in Ukraine directly with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, leaving Europeans, including Ukraine, wondering if they will be included. Poland’s Foreign Minister told the summit that President Emmanuel Macron of France had invited an emergency meeting of European leaders to discuss Ukraine on Sunday.
At the same time, far -right places across Europe have gained ground with the stroke of immigration, which also helped promote Mr Trump back to power in the United States. Mr Vance’s comments suggest that a new kind of American alliance with Europe has been formed, which bypasses the official leadership in favor of movements such as the national rally of Germany and the national rally of France.
Saturday’s Security Congress sessions were dominated by reactions, mainly negative, in Mr Vance’s speech – and Mr Trump’s agenda.
Mr Scholz has been criticized by Friedrich Merz, his opponent as a candidate for Chancellor for conservative Christians, who show that polls are the favorite to be the next German leader.
Mr Vance spent much of his speech on Friday that he committed Europeans to propose that they were restrictions of the Soviet press in freedom of speech across the continent. On Saturday, Mr Merz defended the laws of Germany that prohibit specific forms of speech, including hate speech and banned Nazi slogans, including social media.
He also suggested that Mr Trump’s administration suppresses speech in the United States after moving Friday to kick the Associated Press from pool reports and Mr Trump’s plane, because the news agency refuses to proceed with K. .
“We show the rules given by our democratic institutions, “Merz said.” Freedom of speech remains free speech and remains part of our open, democratic society. And false news, hate speech and offenses remain subject to legal restrictions and controlled by independent courts. ”
“I think I have to say,” added, “that in the face of the events that took place at DC yesterday – we would never kick the news agency outside the Chancellor’s Press Room.”
Mr Merz also criticized Mr Trump’s tariff policy, saying that Germany wanted to reduce invoices, not increase them and that “we do not believe in trade conflicts”.
The comments were the last in a series of critics of Mr Vance by German politicians before the election next Sunday. Mr Scholz’s Social Democrats run a third or fourth in most polls. AFD runs second and her candidate Chancellor, Alice Weidel, met with Mr Vance on Friday in Munich.
An alternative to Germany’s candidates were able to win parliamentary seats, but no other party was willing to form a coalition with them to take control of the government. Parts of AfD have been classified as extremists from German intelligence. Some of its members have been convicted of violating the German law against the use of Nazi slogans. Others were arrested for trying to overthrow the federal government.
This collective avoidance of AfD and other extremist parties is known as a protection wall. Mr Vance aims on Friday, saying that AfD and other hard right -wing parties across Europe have represented legal concerns for voters about high levels of immigration to European countries from the Middle East and elsewhere.
“There is no room for protection walls,” Mr Vance said.
The Vice -President also called on restrictions on freedom of speech more threat to Europe than military aggression than Russia or China.
Mr Scholz violated Mr Vance for this focus on a meeting and answer meeting after his speech. Zanny Minton Beddoes, the Economist leader, was asked if Mr Vance had made points in his speech worth reflecting.
“Do you mean all these very relevant discussions about Ukraine and Security in Europe?” Mr. Scholz said, drawing laughter from the audience.
He then appealed directly to Mr Vance’s criticism of European speech restrictions.
“We must be very clear that freedom of speech in Europe means that it does not attack others in ways that are opposed to the laws and the laws we have in our country,” Mr Scholz said. “And that is happening. There is no difference between the digital world and the analog world to say so. And we have to be very clear that hatred and all that, which is so bad for our societies, should not be the reality of public debate. ”
Mr Zelensky, in his observations, focused on the issue of European defense. He reiterated his position that the United States would be crucial to securing any ceasefire in Ukraine, but that it would need Europe to accelerate. He pointed out what he said was warnings of information on Russian plans to conduct military exercises in Belarus next summer. He noted that Russia had invaded Ukraine after developing troops in Belarus on the pretext of exercises.
“Europe should just come together and start acting in a way that no one can say no to Europe, boss or treat it as a pushover,” said Zelensky.
In a conversation with the Ankara of CNN Christiane Amanpour after his speech, Mr Zelensky also said that Ukraine had to be on the table in any cease talks and asked to meet with Mr. Trump before any meeting K. Trump with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.
“It depends on them. They can discuss whatever they want, but not in Ukraine without Ukraine,” he said.
