For 61 years, the Munich Security Conference has operated under a golden rule. It hangs on the wall as delegates arrive at the Bayerischer Hof hotel venue: “Engage and interact with each other, don’t lecture or ignore one another.”
That rule went out the window on Friday when US vice-president JD Vance lectured Europeans that their continent was in less danger from Russia’s advances than the “enemy within”. This enemy is a steady undermining of free speech and democracy, Vance argued, by silencing citizens most concerned by the consequences of immigration – and the far-right parties they vote for.
The icy reaction in the Munich hall was one kind of response to the lecture. On Saturday morning, the official German response came from chancellor Olaf Scholz.
He was ignored by Vance on Friday, breaking the second part of Munich’s golden rule. Vance chose instead to meet Friedrich Merz, whose centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is leading polls in advance of next Sunday’s election.
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Vance also had 30 minutes to “interact” on the sidelines of the conference with Alice Weidel, leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is second in polling.
Scholz hit back at the US lecture on democracy, saying he was “very grateful” to Vance for visiting the Dachau concentration camp memorial. It operates under the motto “NIE wielder Fascismus” – never again fascism.
That commitment to “never again” cannot be reconciled, Scholz said, with support for the AfD.
“That’s why we cannot accept when outsiders intervene, to the benefit of this party, in our democracy, in our elections and in our democratic opinion formation,” he added, to applause in the conference hall.
“It’s just not on, above all among friends, and we reject it firmly. How we proceed with our democracy, we will decide for ourselves.”
German-American president Donald Trump clearly didn’t heed the Munich rule in his grandfather’s homeland, praising Vance’s speech as “brilliant”.
“He talked about freedom of speech and I think it’s true,” said Trump in Washington. “In Europe, it’s losing their wonderful right of freedom of speech. I see it.”
Another robust response came from German centre-right leader Friedrich Merz. He said Germany respects US elections and seeks close co-operation with Washington on policy and trade.
Responding to the Vance claims, he said: “Free speech remains free speech and remains part of our open, democratic society. Fake news, hate speech and other offences remain subject to legal restraints and control by independent courts.”
In relation to Friday’s White House reporting ban on the Associated Press, in a name dispute over the Gulf of Mexico, Merz added: “We would never kick out a news agency from the press room of our chancellery.”
Not everyone rose to the Vance bait. The influential Bild tabloid said there was “no time for sulking” about the US, “our closest and most important ally”.
“Our freedom and our prosperity still depend decisively on the US,” it added. “That this is the case is down to Europe and that it will change is unlikely as independence from United States would only be possible with large armament.”
That was on the mind of many European leaders on Saturday in Munich, lead by Polish prime minister Donald Tusk.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago, Warsaw has emerged as a key Nato ally and Poland as a key military hub. It is already the Nato member that spends the most on defence and security, the outlay is set to reach 4.7 per cent of gross domestic product this year.
“Europe needs its own plan for Ukraine and for its own security or its future will be decided by other powers,” said Tusk. “This plan must be prepared now. There’s no time to lose.”
Just how mainstream this thinking has become in Europe became clear with a robust intervention by António da Costa, president of the European Council, where EU leaders meet.
“Peace without defence is an illusion,” he said. “I will make sure that defence is right at the top of the European Council agenda.”
[ Zelenskiy calls on Europe to create its own armed forces to ensure securityOpens in new window ]
Many on Saturday cited the unhappy “spirit of Munich”, the notorious 1938 appeasement deal struck in the Bavarian capital that forced Czechoslovakia to surrender its Sudeten region to Nazi Germany in a failed effort to avoid war.
Czech president Petr Pavel described the security approach of the new US administration as a bracing but necessary “cold shower” for Europe. He warned the Trump administration that Europe could step up to take more responsibility for its own security only if it is closely involved in – not excluded from – ceasefire talks.
“Otherwise,” he said, “we would somehow echo the Munich spirit that the Czechs know about very well: agreement about a country without a country.”
Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen agreed that any deal above Ukraine’s heads would be a fatal echo of 1938, with far-reaching consequences for the entire continent.
“This war is about Russia’s imperial dreams, their wish and will to take decisions on European questions and we cannot allow them to do that,” she said. “We have to stick to strategy to win the war. This is not easy, beautiful or nice ... but it is necessary.”
After talks with the US delegation on Friday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy was in a bleak mood. The Trump administration was ending the old transatlantic security era, he said, forcing Europe to adapt and respond to signs that Russia is planning further military action in Europe.
“What about your armies, are they ready?” he asked leaders. “I urge you to act for your own sake and for the sake of your people, your nations your houses your children and our shared future.”
He added that, in his view, the time had come for Europe to join forces on defence.
“I really believe that the time has come,” he said, “the armed forces of Europe must be created.”
