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The Vice President Promotes Extremist Parties Abroad [1]
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Date: 2025-02-15
On February 14, 2025, the American Vice President met with Alice Weidel, the leader of the far-right German party AfD. It is highly unusual for a high-ranking member of a foreign government to meet with a politician from a party that holds no governmental responsibility. However, this meeting can be explained by the fact that the AfD’s ideological stance closely aligns with that of the current U.S. administration.
In case pro-government media in the U.S. assign undue significance to this meeting, I would like to clarify a few facts: In Germany, parts of the country’s security agencies have classified the AfD as “hostile to the constitution.” In response, all democratic parties have unequivocally declared that they will not cooperate with it.
The AfD currently has little chance of participating in government in Germany. In the upcoming elections next week, it is expected to receive just over 20% of the vote. The situation in other European countries is more worrying, as similar parties are much closer to - or have already achieved - government participation.
At the moment, Germany is protected by the fact that many people still remember first-hand what Nazi rule meant, or have directly experienced how their parents' generation was traumatised by the Nazi regime. The AfD has little appeal for them. The situation is different for the younger generations. Many of them are barely aware of the historical context and are more receptive to AfD propaganda. This could become dangerous in the coming years.
It seems that the vice president, like Elon Musk—who has recently been active in this regard—is more interested in accelerating this process than in supporting democracy in Germany
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