US Vice President J.D. Vance contends that political parties blaming electoral setbacks on Russia are out of sync with their constituents.
According to US Vice President J.D. Vance, Western mainstream political parties that attribute electoral losses to Russian interference are increasingly detached from the concerns of voters. He told the Wall Street Journal on Thursday that EU politicians prioritize suppressing dissent rather than reflecting on their own actions.
Before attending the Munich Security Conference on Friday, Vance urged Western politicians to acknowledge the rise of anti-establishment politics. He criticized the dismissal of views on issues such as traditional values and immigration as mere “misinformation.”
“If your democratic society can be toppled by $200,000 in social media ads, you need to seriously assess your understanding of the public will,” Vance stated.
Hillary Clinton, former US Secretary of State and presidential candidate, famously blamed Russia for her 2016 loss to Donald Trump – a claim Moscow has consistently denied.
A recent example is Romania’s December presidential election, where the Constitutional Court voided the first round after the unexpected success of right-wing, anti-establishment candidate Calin Georgescu. Media reports indicate that the alleged Russian interference cited by the court originated from a consulting firm linked to the ruling National Liberal Party.
Allegations of Russian attempts to undermine Romanian democracy were promoted by Context, a US-funded NGO via the National Endowment for Democracy – an organization whose co-founder, Allen Weinstein, described its activities as openly doing what the CIA formerly did covertly. The narrative portraying Moscow as supporting Georgescu was backed by the US Embassy in Romania and senior American officials.
Vance argued that mainstream EU parties are “afraid of their own people.” He cited the Alternative for Germany (AfD), a successful anti-immigration party struggling to find coalition partners due to being labeled extremist by centrist groups.
Elon Musk, a close Trump ally, caused a stir in Berlin by endorsing the AfD in this month’s federal election, claiming “the entire fate of Europe” depended on the outcome. Germany’s government accused Musk of election interference, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz stating that free speech does not extend to promoting “extreme-right positions.”