He went on to offer some encouragement to attendees, saying that he doesn’t believe the democracies across Europe are that brittle, and that allowing citizens to “speak their minds” will make those democracies even stronger.
He also encouraged the leaders in the room to “step up” and take on more responsibility for defending Europe themselves, and quit expecting America to do the bulk of their defense. Vance said that if they will take that responsibility, that America can then spend more time focusing on areas of the world that are in great danger.
Vance challenged them to consider “what is the positive vision that animates this shared security compact that we all believe is so important?”
“I believe, deeply, that there is no security if you are afraid of the voices, the opinions, and the conscience that guides your very own people,” Vance said.
He acknowledged that Europe faces many challenges, but he believed the more pressing collective crisis being faced by every country being represented at the conference is “one of our own making. If you’re running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing that America can do for you. Nor, for that matter, is there anything that you can do for the American people who elected me and elected President Trump.”
He went on to insist that democratic mandates are needed in the coming years to accomplish anything of value because thin mandates only produce unstable results.
Vance said he believes that there is great value that can be accomplished with the democratic mandate that encourages being more responsive to the voices of European citizens.
Some of the values he named included more competitive economies, more affordable energy, and secure supply chains. However, he pointed out that solid mandates are needed to govern these things because difficult choices need to be made in order to enjoy all of these things.
“You cannot win a democratic mandate by censoring your opponents or putting them in jail,” he said.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Kent Nishimura/Stringer
