Vance met with leader of German far-right AfD amid election interference criticism

(Patria) - United States Vice President JD Vance met on Friday in Munich with the leader of the German far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), his office confirmed, after endorsing the party as a political partner – a stance Berlin dismissed as unwelcome election interference, Reuters reported.

An official in Vance’s office did not provide further details about the meeting but said Vance met with leaders from all major German political parties, according to the group’s report.

A spokesperson for AfD leader Alice Weidel confirmed the meeting, saying the two met at Vance’s hotel for about thirty minutes and discussed the war in Ukraine, German domestic politics and freedom of speech.

The anti-immigrant AfD, which currently enjoys about twenty percent support ahead of the February 23 general election, holds pariah status among the country’s other major political parties with a taboo on far-right politics due to its Nazi past. In politics dubbed a “cordon sanitaire,” parties have established a consensus not to work with the AfD, which is under surveillance by German intelligence.

Apparently referencing the slogan, Vance said: “Democracy rests on the sacred principle that the voice of the people matters. There is no place for cordons sanitaires.”

“No voter on this continent went to the ballot box to open the door to millions of unvetted immigrants,” Vance said on Friday at the Munich Security Conference.

In an interview with Deutschlandfunk radio to be broadcast on Sunday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticized Vance’s remarks as very unusual, adding that Germany has a cordon sanitaire against far-right parties for good reason, citing its past under National Socialism.

Germany’s defense minister on Friday dismissed Vance’s criticism of German and European political forces as unacceptable.

“This democracy has just been called into question by the US Vice President, not just German, but Europe as a whole,” Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said at the Munich Security Conference on Friday.

“If I understand him correctly, he is comparing the state of affairs in Europe with what prevails in some authoritarian regimes… that is not acceptable,” he added.

Conservative leader Friedrich Merz, who polls say is likely to be the next
German chancellor, was accused by opponents last month of breaking the cordon sanitaire by initiating parliamentary motions that relied on AfD support. But he too has ruled out the possibility of forming a government with the far-right party.

Earlier on Friday, a spokesperson for the German government said Vance should not interfere in Germany’s elections, when asked about a Wall Street Journal report in which Vance was quoted as calling on German politicians to work with all parties, including the AfD.

“I don’t think it’s right for foreigners, including those from friendly foreign countries, to interfere so
intensively in the election campaign in the middle of an election period,” the spokesperson said.

Billionaire Elon Musk, the biggest donor to President Donald Trump’s election efforts and now head of Trump’s task force to reduce US government spending, has publicly endorsed the AfD.