Abdelrahman
Germany’s Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, has voiced strong disapproval of remarks attributed to US Vice President JD Vance regarding the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) Party.
Vance, currently in Germany for the Munich Security Conference (MSC), allegedly encouraged established German political parties to collaborate with the AfD.
"The ultimate authority in deciding the outcome of German elections is the German electorate," Baerbock stated during her MSC address on Friday. She emphasized, "We are fortunate to live in a democracy, a fact we must highlight frequently, especially as individuals around the globe are risking their lives for the right to vote freely."
In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Vance expressed plans to advocate for a recognition of the growing anti-establishment sentiment among European leaders at the MSC, suggesting that German politicians should engage with all parties, including the anti-immigration AfD.
During a press conference on the same day, German government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit remarked that external parties should refrain from intervening in the internal matters of allied nations, noting that they might lack a comprehensive understanding of the political landscape in Germany.
Germany’s domestic intelligence agency (BfV) is actively monitoring the AfD, considering it a potential right-wing extremist organization, a designation already assigned by various state-level party entities.
Currently, the far-right party ranks second in national polls, holding around 20% support ahead of the upcoming elections on February 23.
Earlier this January, the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) sparked controversy by forming a majority for an anti-immigration proposal, leveraging votes from the AfD. This action was criticized as a violation of a longstanding political “firewall” in Germany, where mainstream democratic parties have traditionally shunned alliances with extremist factions.
As a result of these events, protests erupted across multiple cities, drawing hundreds of thousands of participants.
