Affront at the Munich Security Conference: JD Vance meets Merz - but not Scholz

Tagesspiegel Affront at the Munich Security Conference: JD Vance meets Merz - but not Scholz 6 hours • 2 minutes reading time The US Vice President apparently prefers to meet with the challenger rather than with the incumbent Chancellor. Those around him do not believe that Olaf Scholz will be re-elected. The Munich Security Conference begins with a small diplomatic affront: US Vice President JD Vance, who has traveled to the conference, will not meet with Chancellor Olaf Scholz. "We don't need to see him, he won't be Chancellor for much longer anyway," a source close to the US Vice President told Politico about the US delegation's stance. A German government representative confirmed to the news magazine that there would be no meeting. The cancellation is particularly explosive in view of the upcoming early federal election in ten days. Scholz's challenger Friedrich Merz will meet with Vance in Munich for a 20-minute conversation. Added to this is the geopolitical situation, which has been changing rapidly in recent days. US President Donald Trump has begun direct negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the terms of a possible peace agreement with Ukraine without involving Europe. At the same time, the Ramstein Group met in Germany to organize further arms aid for Kiev. This is another reason why Vance's decision has been met with criticism in Berlin. "This is disrespectful to Germany," a high-ranking government official who does not belong to Scholz's party told Politico: "I don't think much of Scholz, but he is still our chancellor." However, Vance will attend a meeting with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Chancellor's Office Minister Wolfgang Schmidt are expected to be present at least for the first part of the talks to represent the position of the federal government. A diplomat from Eastern Europe commented on the decision to Politico in clear terms: "This is an embarrassing setback and shows that Germany under Trump is not perceived as a serious power factor in Europe."