Scholz hits back at US Vice President Vance

Munich [Germany], February 16: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz vehemently rejected remarks made by US Vice President JD Vance after he lectured European leaders on democracy and free speech, with the German leader hitting back on day two of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) on Saturday.
Vance's much-anticipated speech on the first day of the high-profile gathering of world leaders and foreign policy experts stunned Washington's European allies after he sharply criticized mainstream European politicians as insufficiently democratic, demanding more openness to right-wing populists and urging a crackdown on migration.
The comments come at a particularly delicate time for Germany, where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is polling in second place ahead of elections on February 23. Mainstream parties have all vowed to maintain a political "firewall" to keep the anti-immigration, eurosceptic party from power.
Scholz slammed Vance for his remarks, insisting there should be no outside interference in the German election campaign.
Speaking at MSC on Saturday morning, Scholz said that members of the AfD trivialize Germany's Nazi past and the monstrous crimes of Nazism.
"That is why we will not accept outsiders interfering in favour of this party in our democracy, in our elections, in the process of democratic opinion-forming," said Scholz.
"That is unbecoming - especially among friends and allies, and we strongly reject this."
After Vance almost completely sidestepped Ukraine in his speech, despite high expectations that he would use the conference to lay out the Trump administration's vision on how to end the war, Scholz insisted that any negotiations with Russia must respect Ukraine's "sovereign independence." (DPA)
Source: Qatar Tribune