"After the shock of last year's event, when JD Vance stunned the audience with a frontal US attack on Europe's liberal democracies, the seemingly more conciliatory tone struck by Marco Rubio was greeted by many present, including Wolfgang Ischinger, a veteran German diplomat and the conference chair, as reassuring. Indeed the US secretary of state got a standing ovation in the room a gesture perhaps more of relief than of adulation."
"A year ago, Vance accused Europe of succumbing to the alleged tyranny and censorship of woke liberals and losing sight of the cultural bonds that link the two shores of the Atlantic. His attack baffled European leaders, who, while often prone to navel-gazing about their internal struggles, do not consider restrictions on free speech a primary concern. The vice-president shocked Munich by insisting that Europe's biggest threat was the woke threat from within, even as he endorsed far-right nationalists including Germany's AfD."
The Munich Security Conference showed no dramatic deterioration in transatlantic relations, with Marco Rubio's comparatively conciliatory tone comforting many attendees. JD Vance's prior frontal attack on Europe's liberal democracies had shocked delegates by framing 'woke' liberalism as the principal threat and endorsing far-right nationalists. German chancellor Friedrich Merz warned against adopting American unilateralist and Maga cultural-war values. Europeans sought reassurance after Vance's insults, welcoming Rubio's celebration of shared heritage, history and Christianity and his claim that the US aims to lead a western civilizational renaissance. Questions remain about whether the underlying US message has substantively changed and what strategic traps may be present.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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