Forecasts that there would be clashes between Americans and Europeans at this year’s Munich Security Conference (Feb. 14-16) were vindicated when German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius departed from his prepared text at the event yesterday to contradict remarks by U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance. “If I understood him correctly, he was comparing conditions in parts of Europe with those in authoritarian governments. That is not acceptable,” said Pistorius. Other European leaders are also shocked by Vance’s speech, which showed that he thinks European governments are a bigger problem than Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Pistorius also warned yesterday that should the European Union be excluded from talks on the Ukraine issue, it could mark a turning point in Europe’s relations with the U.S. “This may prove to be a historic, pivotal moment for trans-Atlantic relations, after which we risk taking different paths,” he told the Munich audience. “The choice that we are making will decide whether we will live in peace or in a situation of crisis, and it will also define our future and the future of the generations to come in Europe,” Pistorius noted. “We need to negotiate from the position of strength,” he added.
It is also worrying for Germany that Vance interfered in the German election campaign, denouncing the political boycott against the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, saying “there is no room for firewalls.” AfD leader Alice Weidel spoke on X of Vance as giving an “impressive speech.” She later met with Vance for a 30-minute conversation at his hotel. According to her spokesperson, the topic there was also the firewall.
