At this year's conference, the Western establishment is taking on Russia and Donald Trump

The most ardent defenders of the Western "rules-based international order" are meeting at the Munich Security Conference on Friday and Saturday. This year the focus isn't just on Russia; it's also on US President Donald Trump and the "populist" threat in Europe's own backyard.

Friday's events kick off with an address by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who's currently pressing the EU leadership to circumvent their own rules to save his flagging economy and rearmament program. EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas then heads a panel on "the international order between reform and destruction," right as France and Italy want her sidelined in any potential negotiations with Russia.

After discussions on trade, maritime security, and climate change, Moldovan President Maia Sandu takes part in a panel on "hybrid warfare," less than two weeks after it emerged that the EU - and not Russia - interfered in the 2024 election that brought her to power.

In a report published earlier this month, Munich Security Conference Foundation President Wolfgang Ischinger stated that "the United States' evolving view of the international order" is the most important issue to be debated this weekend. Populists like Trump, he argued, have taken a "wrecking ball" to the post-WWII liberal order, and America's former allies need to respond to this threat.

To that end, US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 'democratic socialist', will feature on a panel about the "rise of populism," while US Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal - both advocates for maximum American involvement in the Ukraine conflict - with discuss "the state of Russia." Graham has previously called for the assassination of Russian President Vladimir Putin.