Americans say wrecking ball – that's the giant ball on a cable, which is used to demolish buildings. In world politics, the time has come for "wrecking ball politics", say the organizers of the Munich Security Conference. And they don't hesitate to name the most massive ball.
"The most powerful of those who are attacking existing rules and institutions is US President Donald Trump," they said in a security report published on Monday (February 9).
The announcement came as it was announced that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio would lead a "large delegation" from the US to Munich, where world leaders are gathering from Friday to Sunday (February 13-15).
Ischinger sees two main tasks
Conference chairman Wolfgang Ischinger sees two tasks for this year's conference. The first is like a "bicycle repair shop," he says, referring to greasing transatlantic chains after weeks of tension.
"Part of our mission, I think, is to at least offer a chance for repair in terms of rebuilding trust and confidence among transatlantic partners. Obviously, trust has been broken, just think of Greenland," Ischinger told DW.
Around 65 world leaders are arriving in Munich, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as a hundred foreign and defense ministers, numerous officers and other high-ranking politicians.
Ischinger (79), a former German ambassador to Washington, who has been chairing the conference since 2008, with a brief break, highlights as another item the need for Europe to become more self-reliant "after 80 years of relying on the American umbrella."
“As the Polish prime minister used to say, it is not written in the Bible that 450 million Europeans need 350 million Americans to defend themselves against 140 million Russians,” Ischinger said. “Why can’t we accept the American demand to do more, to become more capable, to become more self-reliant? We should do that.”
Ischinger says AfD's comeback has nothing to do with US pressure
During last year's conference, US Vice President J.D. Vance delivered a shocking attack on European partners from the podium, accusing them of stifling free speech, allowing too much migration, and ignoring what their voters want.
Vance spoke with leaders of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) last year, who were not invited to Munich at the time. Now AfD representatives have been invited, and Ischinger claims that this has nothing to do with American pressure.
"That's a myth. No one on the American side has ever told me anything about it," Ischinger said. "Secondly, I would like everyone to understand that I have zero sympathy for the AfD. But I have to admit that I head a private foundation that organizes a private, independent forum for dialogue."
His predecessor, Christoph Heusgen, who briefly headed the conference, recalled the AfD last year after the party's deputies walked out of a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Bundestag.
"That made everyone very angry, including me," Ischinger says. "But since then we've had elections in this country and the AfD is the strongest opposition party. Should we ignore them?"
Decline in public trust, strengthening of radical parties
The report, published ahead of the new conference, focuses on what Ischinger calls the “elephant in the room” – the erosion of respect for the principles that have underpinned the global order since 1945.
"For generations, US allies have been able to rely not only on American power but also on a shared understanding of the principles on which the international order is based," Ischinger wrote in the foreword.
"Today, that seems less certain and raises questions about the future shape of transatlantic and international cooperation," he added.
In addition to Rubio, who is leading the Trump administration delegation, prominent American critics of the administration are also arriving in Munich. California Governor Gavin Newsom, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York will be there.
The report also warns of a loss of trust in institutions across the West and the rise of parties promising radical change. "The result is a new climate in which those who use bulldozers, wrecking balls and chainsaws are quietly admired or even openly celebrated," the report says.
Trump's supporters claim that the US president's approach is succeeding in cutting through old knots, that he has secured greater defense spending from NATO members or a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
In the long run, this could lead to a politics of deals, marked by vested interests. “Ironically, it would be a world that privileges the rich and powerful, rather than those who place so much hope in wrecking ball politics,” the report says.
Changing American foreign policy
The report states that the US rejection of key elements of the international order is affecting systems that are already under pressure – such as the World Trade Organization or humanitarian aid.
Washington's shifting support for Ukraine and mixed signals on security in Europe deepen fears that Russia will step up military and hybrid attacks.
Ukrainian President Zelensky will be one of the most closely watched speakers in Munich.
In the Far East, Western partners are also in increasing uncertainty, in the shadow of a dominant China. Here too, previous American policy is becoming less binding.
Ischinger says that current US foreign policy, whether one likes it or not, is already fundamentally changing the world, with consequences that are yet to be felt.
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