Munich Security Conference Leader Justifies AfD Invitation Amid Controversy

Controversy Surrounding AfD's Invitation

By Andreas Rinke

BERLIN, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The head of the Munich Security Conference defended a decision to invite the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to this year's meeting in February after repeated U.S accusations that European states and institutions were suppressing free speech.

The annual gathering of security experts and policymakers comes at a time of exceptional uncertainty for Europe, as its leaders struggle to adjust to the upending of decades of trans-Atlantic policy assumptions by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Ischinger's Perspective on Inclusion

Wolfgang Ischinger, the former German diplomat who heads the conference, said including two or three foreign policy specialists from the AfD, which has not been invited for the past two years, would do no harm and would be "levelling the playing field".

Impact of U.S. Criticism on Europe

"It will not allow the AfD to proclaim again that they're being victimised and that they are marginalised and excluded from German political life," he told Reuters in an interview in Berlin late on Thursday.

AfD's Political Influence in Germany

In a report last year, Germany's intelligence services classified the anti-immigration AfD, which polls indicate has the largest backing of any party in the country, as an "extremist" group.

But Ischinger said the broad support for the party, the main opposition group in Germany's parliament, made it difficult to explain to foreign attendees why it was not possible to meet its representatives at the conference.

He said he was critical of AfD foreign policy, which is opposed to Western military support for Ukraine.

"But maybe by attending some of these speeches in Munich, they'll have an educational experience," he said.

The AfD has been leveraging ties with Trump's MAGA - Make America Great Again - movement over the past year and poses a direct challenge to Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives in a series of state elections in 2026. 

EUROPE CRITICISED BY US OVER FREE SPEECH

Last year's conference was marked by U.S. Vice President JD Vance's attack on European leaders, whom he accused of censoring free speech and failing to control immigration.

The comments by Vance, who met AfD party leader Alice Weidel, were the first of a series of harsh criticisms of Europe by members of the Trump administration over the past year that have deeply unsettled Washington's allies.

European governments have agreed to U.S. demands for increased military spending and accepted the need to shoulder more responsibility for defence.

But open talk by U.S. officials of using military force to seize Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, has shocked European leaders.

Ischinger, who said it was not yet clear if Vance would be attending this year's gathering, said the conference existed to "deal with difficult transatlantic issues".

"So I would hope that if he comes, he would use the opportunity to explain current and future U.S. foreign policy decisions, some of which need a lot of explaining here in Europe," he said.

(Writing by James MackenzieEditing by Gareth Jones)