End of an era? Germany in disarray as US scolds staunchest European ally

The United States Vice-President JD Vans said this week as a view that Europe became a threat to more democratic values ​​than itself-Russia or China, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was apparently upset.

“It’s unacceptable,” he was heard from the audience.

European leaders, generals and intelligence chiefs gathered at the Annual Munich Protection Conference were awaiting Vladimir Putin’s hybrid war and the transitLantic alliance on important questions like beef.

Instead of Donald Trump’s ambassador Saved them To suppress free speech, fail to stop mass migration, and use terms like “misinformation, chaos” like Soviet-age propagandists.

After the van’s address, Pistorius fled to a room with two advisers to rewrite the speech that Pistorius made the same afternoon. Less than an hour later, social Democrats – whose direct talk helped him to make him the most popular politician in Germany – stood in the lacta, apparently angry.

“He talked about the destruction of democracy, and if I understand him properly, he compared the situation in Europe to the authoritarian governance system,” Pistorius said. “Female and gentleman, it’s not acceptable.”

Vans’s acute words were part of a week to count for Europeans who discovered Wednesday Trump called Vladimir Putin To start a “instant” discussion with an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, without advice from them or Kiev in advance.

On the previous day, they learned that US Defense Secretary Pete Hegsheth had already left the regional integrity of the country before NATO membership and discussion for Kiev.

The Vans’s Dietroeb in Europe did not cause more disruption and angaste than Germany, the conference host, which is being held in the shade of a growing right right next weekend next weekend.

Over the past eight decades, the Transatlantic relationship has included the country’s democratic regeneration, economic recovery and military protection because Berlin tried to bring back his Nazi past.

The words of the Co-President even shook the staunch German transitistists. Fredreach Merge, Christian Democrats and 69 -year -old leader and Dear to be the next German ChancellorTrump has accused the administration “intervene in the elections”.

“It is not the job of the American government to explain here in Germany how to protect our democratic institutions,” he said.

After Trump returned to the White House, German officials were bound to come together to criticize the US president, who used his first word to target former Chancellor Angella Merkel. They knew that they would have to pay more money after a few years of failing to fulfill NATO’s goal of spending 2 percent of GDP, and their large trade surplus in the United States would probably cause painful tariffs on car imports.

But they were not ready to attack on the basis of their political discipline for Trump and its internal circles — and the right-right for Germany was pursuing the right-right option (AFD), which made mainstream parties with a long “Firewall” that made the Co-Co-Co -Operation taboo.

In his speech on Friday, Vans called for the end of the national firewall. Shortly after that, he took the unprecedented action of the meeting with the AFD co-leader Allice WaidleThe organizers of the conference prevented the participation. Meanwhile, it was transferred that Vans refused to meet German social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Sholz, whose unpleasant popular party was predicted to be third in the February 21st.

Germany said that “in our elections will not accept the outsiders who interfere with this party in our democracy,” Sholz said in a speech on Saturday. “This is not suitable, not especially between friends and allies. The The We will decide ourselves what happens to our democracy. “

Vans’s burning criticism has been associated with the feeling of emergence in Germany, which refuses from the asylum seekers in a large number of severe attacks and a filled national debate about immigration. The latest event – when an Afghan National National Protesting Union members passed through the crowd – on the eve of the conference, where it happened, a little more than 1 km from the Hoff Hotel in the ornaments.

AFD, so poisonous before that, even if it was far away from the Marine Le Pen’s preferences in France, the cock-e-hop left the right to the right of the world.

It first won the support of X Malik and Trump’s associate Elon Kasturi, whom Weidedale had personally personally answered the court for more than a year. On Wednesday, Waidle, whose party was predicted to protect the record 20 percent of the vote, was organized by Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Arban in Budapest, who described him as “the future” and called for him to welcome him to welcome him.

This is not the first time that German-American relations have fallen into strain at the Munich Conference, which has become one of the most important events of the calendar for more than 60 years for members of the TransATTLANTIC Alliance.

German and US officials clashed in the past because of George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq and Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. However, sometimes the exchanges are not so burning.

Angry European representatives were divided into roughly two camps: those who saw the words and actions of Vans were seen as a sign that the continent should come up with a plan to stop depending on US support quickly; And those who believed that the Vice-President was being deliberately provocative, they were not indicating any major changes in the policy.

“We don’t want to break [with the US] And I hope they will not do that too, “EU chief diplomat Kaza Kollas FT says.” We don’t want to start fighting on the basis of the public. “

However, another European official said: “They are not opposed, but our United States should think of what we have heard today as a foreign country.”

Some German officials found the fact that Vans and Hegast were more present at the private meeting. They said that Hegastath told a European official: “We know you are good guys.”

A senior European official considered that the United States “is not retreating from Europe” but instead “offensively in the foreign policy of transactions.”

However, others were even more worried. German Green MP Anton Hoffrita says, “Vans is a right -wing extremist politician supported by US Big Tech oligarchs, whose goal is to gradually destroy the EU,”

Green Vice -Chancellor of Germany Robert Habek said the statement was a “turning point” in the relations between Europe and the United States.

He said the US government was “miraculous and politically in favor of dictators”, he said. During the weekend in Munich, “Western community of values ​​ended here”.