New data shows German voters are torn over comments regarding free speech by US Vice President JD Vance.
At the Munich Security Conference last week, Mr Vance delivered a provocative speech that criticised European governments for allegedly censoring free speech, interfering in elections and over-regulating new technologies.
A new poll carried out by the Democracy Institute for the Daily Express suggests the majority of German voters, who will cast their vote this weekend for Germany’s Bundestag election, disagree with Mr Vance’s comments.
Of the 1,600 people surveyed between February 18 and 20, 55% disapproved of his critique of Europe. But a whopping 43% approved them, while 2% said they were unsure.
Some critics of Mr Vance’s speech think his remarks on freedom of speech and alleged election interference were an indirect endorsement of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), although others dispute this.
Data also suggests Mr Vance’s comments have had little sway on making Germans more or less likely to vote AfD.
Sixty-eight percent of those polled said there was no change, while 16% said more likely and the remaining 16% said less likely.
On Thursday evening, Mr Vance doubled down and criticised Germany’s free speech laws.
He told the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington DC: “Germany’s entire defence is subsidised by the American taxpayer. There are thousands upon thousands of American troops in Germany today.
“Do you think that the American taxpayer is going to stand for that if you get thrown in jail in Germany for posting a mean tweet? Of course, they’re not.”
German law sets restrictions on free speech, including the long-standing ban on Holocaust denial and any glorification of the country’s Nazi past.
The limits are part of an effort to stop extremism and incitement, and have led to authorities policing the internet for hate speech and arresting the people allegedly posting, and reposting, such comments.
Figures by the Democracy Institute show the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is leading the polls (28%), with the AFD in second place (24%) and the centre-left Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) third (15%).
Despite the CDU seemingly in pole position to win the election, research shows the AfD’s Alice Weidel is the preferred choice for Chancellor (30%), followed by CDU leader Friedrich Merz (25%) and current Chancellor, the SPD’s Olaf Scholz (18%).
The polls for the German election open on Sunday.