On Friday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance expressed support for a German far-right party, a move that Berlin promptly rejected as unwelcome interference in the upcoming election. The anti-immigration AfD, currently polling around 20% ahead of the February 23 general election, is isolated by other major political parties due to Germany's historical aversion to far-right politics stemming from its Nazi past.
Referring to the informal consensus not to engage with the AfD, Vance emphasized that "Democracy rests on the sacred principle that the voice of the people matters. There's no room for firewalls." He asserted at the Munich Security Conference that "No voter on this continent went to the ballot box to open the floodgates to millions of unvetted immigrants."
Despite polls indicating that conservative leader Friedrich Merz could become Germany's next chancellor, he has distanced himself from the AfD, even as some suggest breaking the firewall by leveraging AfD support in parliamentary motions.
Responding to a Wall Street Journal report where Vance advocated for cooperation with all parties including the AfD, a German government spokesperson emphasized that foreign intervention, even from friendly nations, during an ongoing election period was inappropriate.
Additionally, U.S. businessman Elon Musk, a prominent donor to President Donald Trump's election campaign and currently overseeing a task force on reducing U.S. government spending, has publicly supported the AfD.