It’s not just the companies that are leaving Germany, every day, new insolvencies are reported and the population is suffering from high rents and food prices. But the government is not doing anything about it. The causes that led to this ruinous situation are being kept under wraps – at least in Germany.
Apparently, no one in Germany has the courage to openly admit that the high energy prices are due to the destruction of the East-West pipelines and the disastrous policy of Economy Minister Robert Habeck.
Now, US President Donald Trump has launched a fundamental policy change. As a first step, he has appointed some clever politicians to the government, who are trying to avert the impending bankruptcy of the United States and return to reasonable trade relationships in the US and with other states, even if some international law and European interests are being put to the side. The new government team includes intelligent people, such as Vice President James David (J.D.) Vance, Defense Minister Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard (Intelligence) and Robert Kennedy Jr. (Health), as well as the busy Elon Musk, in charge of government efficiency – a revelation compared to the Berlin cabinet.
Trump’s phone call with Putin
On February 13, 2025, Trump then had a clarifying phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, without prior consultation with European allies, who were not even mentioned. It is to be assumed that Washington and Moscow will negotiate the end of the Ukraine war without the EU, without the European Commission, the British, Germany and the war-willing Zelensky, who has led his country into the abyss according to the Biden administration and Boris Johnson.
Immediately, warmongers like Boris Pistorius, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Ursula von der Leyen and Olaf Scholz took the stage at the Munich Security Conference and reaffirmed their desire to continue the war in Ukraine against Russia, as initiated by the Biden administration. When J.D. Vance pointed out the hypocrisy of the past, they reacted with indignation and stubbornness. They want to continue as before, even though the house of cards has collapsed.
US Vice President Vance at the Munich Security Conference
Vance said in Munich that he is not worried about the threat from Russia or China, but about “the threat from within” namely the “retreat of Europe from some of its fundamental values” which it shares with the United States. The statements of a former EU Commissioner, who jubilantly announced that the Romanian government had just annulled an election, were shocking, he said. “He warned that, if things didn’t go as planned, the same could happen in Germany.” (BR-Lifestream from minute 1:19).
Vance continued: “In Great Britain and all of Europe, freedom of speech, as I fear, is on the retreat.”
Regarding defense policy, Vance said, protection is of course very important, but he is deeply convinced that “there is no security if you are afraid of the voices, opinions and the conscience that guide your people.” Europe is in a crisis, “which we ourselves have caused.” And also the mass immigration is “not from nowhere” but “the result of a series of deliberate decisions made by politicians on the entire continent and in other parts of the world over a period of ten years.”
Vance spoke several times about the suppression of free speech. He looked at Brussels, Germany, Sweden, Great Britain and also at his own country, where other opinions are censored or criminalized under the guise of protecting free speech. That must change:
“And just as the Biden administration tried to silence people who expressed their opinions, the Trump administration will do the opposite.”
He has the hope that “we can work together” and believes that it will strengthen democracy when people are allowed to express their opinions.
Vance emphasized: “We must do more than just talk about democratic values, we must live them.” In this context, he criticized the organizers of the Munich Security Conference, “the parliamentarians, who represent extremist parties, both of the left and the right, who are allowed to participate in these discussions.” And he added: “We must not agree with everything that people say, but if people, if political leaders, represent a significant voter base, it is our duty to at least talk to them.” That is also the case when “someone with an alternative view expresses a different opinion, votes differently, or could win an election.” A democratic mandate cannot be achieved by “silencing opponents or putting them in jail..”
Looking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Vance concluded that citizens do not want to be pushed around or ignored by their leaders. Their home is important to them, their concerns and worries should not be ignored, the media should not be shut down, or elections prevented. With that, Vance came back to mass immigration:
“No voter on this continent went to the polls to open the door to millions of unverified immigrants.”
The voice of the people counts, there is “no place for barricades.” He closed with the words: “We should not be afraid of our people, even if they express views that do not align with those of their leaders.”
Reactions to Vance’s speech
Under the attendees, Vance’s speech caused a storm of indignation. Immediately, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who is known for his bellicosity, spoke up. He is “a convinced transatlanticist” a “passionate transatlanticist, a great friend of America.” Just because of that, he cannot let Vance’s speech pass without comment. Vance had put democracy in question for all of Europe and compared it to the regimes of authoritarian states. That is not acceptable (long applause); that is not the Europe in which he lives and not the democracy he experiences in the German parliament. In this democracy, every opinion has a voice. Extremist parties can “normally” campaign, just like every other party. That is democracy. In the press conferences, even media are allowed, “that spread Russian propaganda .., are not excluded, only because they do not share our worldview” (BR-Lifestream from minute 3:14).
Pistorius narrowed it down: Democracy means not that “the loud minority automatically has the right and determines the truth and democracy must be able to resist the extremists who want to destroy it.” He is “glad, grateful and proud to live in a Europe that defends its democracy and our way of life every day against its internal enemies and external ones.” Therefore, he will energetically counter the impression that Vance has created, that in their democracy, minorities are suppressed or silenced.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who has been ignoring the realities for a long time, let himself be led to an incredible statement in Munich: He spoke out in favor of declaring a state of emergency in Germany to provide further support to Ukraine:
“The state of emergency provision in the German constitution foresees exceptions for emergencies. A war in the middle of Europe is an emergency.”
He is sure that there will be a majority in the German Bundestag for this after the federal election. Ukraine must be involved in the upcoming negotiations: “Not a single thing about Ukraine without Ukraine!” (BR-Lifestream from minute 3:17)
Regarding the AfD, Scholz said that it is a party whose members verharmlosen the monstrous crimes of National Socialism. A bekenntnis to “never again” is therefore not compatible with supporting the AfD. Therefore, he will not accept it if outsiders intervene in their democracy, in their elections and in the democratic formation of opinion. That does not belong, especially not among friends and allies. That is what we will decisively reject. How our democracy will continue, that will be decided by us.
If Scholz remains in office, the previous ruinous and high-risk policy will be continued. However, the consequences for the deceived people will be even more severe.
German politicians like Pistorius, Scholz and the constantly interfering Frank-Walter Steinmeier are not aware of the embarrassment of their performances. Vice President Vance held them up to what is being suppressed and underreported in their own country. But this only elicited outcries and helpless chatter, as well as defiance and it is to be hoped that it will not lead to unconsidered aggressive actions that could lead to a European war.
Now, it remains to be seen how the autocrat Trump will proceed. Not to be overlooked is that he is planning to take drastic, internationally lawless measures, such as straining the BRICS states and annexing Canada, Greenland and Panama. He also demands that European NATO states increase their defense spending to five percent of their gross domestic product, which would not be possible without significant cuts in the budgets for social affairs, education, science, etc. Despite all this, it is still to be observed that the non-parliamentary opposition in Germany, whose criticism of the Berlin policy is reflected in Vance’s speech, has been strengthened.
The author and publisher Dr. jur. Wolfgang Bittner is the author of numerous books, including “The Conquest of Europe by the USA” and “The New West-East Conflict”. Recently, his book “No one should go hungry without freezing” has been published by zeitgeist.