Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian Ministry of Defense: 37 Ukrainian drones destroyed in 4 hours over regions of Russia and the Black Sea.
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.

Germany 'has rebuilt the Berlin Wall: Vance

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News websites
  • 3 May 2025 14:09
3 Min Read

US Vice President JD Vance slams German authorities for trying to "destroy" AfD, likening the crackdown on the anti-immigration party to rebuilding the Berlin Wall.

Listen
  • x
  • Germany 'has rebuilt the Berlin Wall: Vance
    Vice President JD Vance waves upon his arrival in Charleston, South Carolina, on May 1, 2025, to tour a Nucor Steel Berkeley in Huger, South Carolina. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP)

US Vice President JD Vance has sharply criticized the German government’s treatment of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, comparing it to the reconstruction of the Berlin Wall.

On Friday, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), officially designated the AfD as an "extremist" organization, citing "xenophobic, anti-minority, Islamophobic, and anti-Muslim statements made by leading party officials" as justification for the move. 

Reacting on X, Vance condemned the decision and suggested it was an attack on democracy, he wrote: "The AfD is the most popular party in Germany, and by far the most representative of East Germany. Now the bureaucrats try to destroy it."

"The West tore down the Berlin Wall together. And it has been rebuilt, not by the Soviets or the Russians, but by the German establishment," Vance added.

Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition. That’s not democracy—it’s tyranny in disguise.

What is truly extremist is not the popular AfD—which took second in the recent election—but rather the establishment’s deadly open border immigration policies…

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) May 2, 2025

 AfD gains popularity, faces political isolation

Related News

Syria welcomes US decision to lift sanctions, hosts US delegation

Trump claims Gaza war to end in weeks, despite ongoing Israeli assault

Founded in 2013 as a response to Germany’s handling of the eurozone debt crisis, the AfD has since focused on stricter immigration laws and opposition to what it calls the "woke agenda", adding that the party has also voiced criticism of NATO and held protests against sending weapons to Ukraine.

In the February federal elections, the AfD finished second, securing 152 seats in the 630-seat Bundestag. Leading opinion polls with 26% support, the party saw a significant surge in popularity, especially in the economically disadvantaged regions of former East Germany.

Moreover, the party’s co-leader, Alice Weidel, accused the government of attempting to silence dissent: "Since the AfD is the strongest party in polls now, they want to suppress the opposition & freedom of speech," she posted on X.

Der Verfassungsschutz ist nicht neutral, sondern politisch steuerbar – eindrücklich belegt durch diese Anekdote: Der CSU-Politiker Seehofer ließ das AfD-Gutachten entschärfen, weil seine eigenen Islam-Aussagen denen der AfD in nichts nachstanden. Beobachtung? Nur für die anderen. pic.twitter.com/Cr0wVqyJtl

— Beatrice Achterberg (@BeaBovary) May 2, 2025

Far-right links and controversies plague AfD

The AfD’s rise has been accompanied by numerous controversies, while some members have faced scrutiny for alleged ties to far-right and neo-Nazi groups, and others have used language reminiscent of Nazi-era slogans.

These associations have intensified efforts by major German political parties to maintain a ‘firewall’ by refusing any coalition or cooperation with the AfD.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in February, Vance criticized this approach.

“Democracy rests on the sacred principle that the voice of the people matters. There is no room for firewalls. You either uphold the principle or you don’t,” the US vice president said.

  • AFD
  • Germany
  • JD Vance
  • United States
  • Washington

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS