Germany is furious with JD Vance and says No to dictated Freedom

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A day after JD Vance's speech shocked Europe, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attempted to respond with a speech on the second day of the still-numb Munich conference. Scholz's central message was that Germany would not tolerate foreign interference in its democracy, following comments on German radio where the chancellor described the US vice president's appearance as "incomprehensible." "I can't understand. What has been said is irritating and cannot simply be dismissively commented on and downplayed."

We will not tolerate interference in our democracy

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had a lot to say about U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, who rebuked the continent for its understanding of democracy and free speech. Scholz began his speech with a direct reference to Vance, whom he thanked for his visit to Dachau and his comments that such crimes must not be repeated.

"Never again" to fascism and racism, the German Chancellor said, while in a reference to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, he mentioned, "We will not accept foreigners interfering in our elections on behalf of this party." "We decide for ourselves what will happen to our democracy," he added.

Scholz essentially defended the "firewall" German parties are using to isolate the far-right, and the German chancellor is believed to have responded indirectly but clearly to Vance, who called the Germans yesterday to open the door to far-right parties. He even met the far-right AfD's chancellor candidate, Alice Weidel.

"Germany is a very strong democracy, and as a strong democracy, we are absolutely clear that the far right must be out of political control and out of political decision-making processes and there will be no cooperation with them," Scholz continued.

We say "No" to "dictated freedom"

Referring to the war in Ukraine, Scholz said he was in favor of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and looking for ways to end the conflict. But, as he underlined, Europe would not support a "dictated freedom".

"We will also not accept any solution that leads to a disconnection of European and American security. Only one person will benefit from this: President Putin. We Europeans will represent these interests with confidence and unity in the upcoming negotiations."

Asked if there was anything worth reflecting on from Vance's speech, Scholz said: "Do you mean all these discussions about Ukraine and security in Europe?" He essentially mocked the US vice president who spoke for twenty minutes without mentioning Ukraine or the Russian invasion. Instead, he focused on what he saw as problems within European democracies.

Asked whether the United States would need to be involved in the process of securing a post-war peace, Scholz said yes, noting that this had always been the basis of NATO's cooperation.

Scholz said that to ensure Russia does not attack again if peace is achieved, Kyiv's supporters "first and foremost" must revitalize Ukraine's armed forces in the future.

"There will be a responsibility in the post-war period for Europe and the United States and for Ukraine's international partners and friends to do this," he said. "All kinds of security guarantees that we give should be designed on that basis."

But he avoided directly answering a question about whether Europe would be ready to take responsibility if the United States ended its military support for Kyiv.

Defense spending

Referring to German defense spending, the German chancellor said it would increase "significantly." In fact, as he said, the special budget of 100 billion Euros is a very important one. The cash to finance the German army is only "the first step".

He said huge sums of money would be needed. "We need to reform the German constitution immediately after the elections to allow more spending on defense," he said, also proposing new spending rules for the EU on military spending.

Ahead of the German elections, there is a heated debate in Germany about whether to change the country's debt rules.

Scholz finally said he was "a little disgusted" by politicians who say you can achieve more military spending without borrowing more money.