Hey there! Have you ever thought about how different countries handle freedom of speech and deal with extreme ideas? 🗣️ Well, something interesting happened recently between Germany and the United States!
At a big meeting called the Munich Security Conference, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had a strong response to comments made by U.S. Vice President JD Vance.
So, what happened? 🤔 Vice President Vance criticized Europe, especially Germany, saying they are not allowing free speech because they are tough on groups with extreme ideas, like the far-right party called Alternative for Germany (AfD).
He even met with the leader of the AfD, which surprised a lot of people! 😮 In Germany, most other political parties have agreed not to work with the AfD because of their extreme views.
Chancellor Scholz didn’t like that Vance was telling Germany what to do. He said, “That is not appropriate, especially not among friends and allies. We firmly reject that.” He believes that Germany has “good reasons” not to work with the AfD.
Germany has a history it doesn’t want to repeat. Chancellor Scholz reminded everyone by saying, “Never again fascism, never again racism, never again aggressive war.” ✊ He wants to make sure that groups that promote hateful ideas don’t have the chance to harm society.
Other European leaders agreed with Scholz. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said, “No one is required to adopt our model but no one can impose theirs on us.” 🇫🇷
At the conference, many people expected discussions about important topics like the situation between Ukraine and Russia. But Vice President Vance talked mostly about free speech and immigration. Many people in the audience were surprised and didn’t applaud much. 😶
When someone asked Chancellor Scholz what he thought about Vance’s speech, he jokingly replied, “You mean all these very relevant discussions about Ukraine and security in Europe?” which made the audience laugh and clap. 😂
This event shows how countries can have different views on important issues. It’s okay to have different opinions, but it’s also important to respect each other’s choices! 🌍
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
