Elon Musk told a rally for the far-right Alternative for Germany party this weekend that the country is “too focused on the sins of the past” and that this has affected generations of Germans. He said that this was an obvious effort to dispel the long shadow of the Nazis that had left the country with so many people. Separate extreme political parties from public life.
“It’s good to be proud of German culture and German values, and it’s good to be proud of German culture and German values,” Musk said in a short video broadcast to thousands of party members in eastern Halle. It’s good not to lose that in the middle of the day.”
“We don’t want everything to be the same everywhere, just one big soup,” Musk said. “You know, we want to have something in that place. You go to different countries, you experience different cultures, but it’s something unique and special and good, and the German government wants to and take action to protect the health and well-being of the German people.”
Musk’s comments came on Saturday, two days before Poland’s official ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp, one of the most important days of remembrance on the German calendar. German critics harshly criticized his words and timing.
“Elon Musk’s enthusiasm for German right-wing radicalism, German pride, the German people and German hand signals is astonishing,” said journalist Mathieu von Rohr. I wrote it sarcastically in one of the news magazines, Der Spiegel.
Musk himself recently sparked controversy in Germany and other countries after making remarks that were widely interpreted as a Nazi salute at a rally for supporters of Trump after his inauguration.
The billionaire, an adviser to President Trump, endorsed the so-called AfD party in posts on his social media platform X late last year, later citing the party’s positions on immigration, energy policy and other issues. Since then, he has increased his support while trying to portray the party and its leadership as reasonable.
In doing so, he wiped away years of flirtation with Nazism and other actions by AfD members that led Germany’s mainstream political parties to unite against cooperation with the organization.
German intelligence officially classified parts of the AfD as extremists. Last year, party leaders were found guilty of using banned Nazi language. Party members, including former members of the Bundestag, have been implicated in several plots to overthrow the German government.
But Musk has repeatedly praised the AfD. Earlier this month, he invited prime ministerial candidate Alice Weidell for a friendly interview on the X show. Speaking via video link at the party’s conference over the weekend, he said the party had the support of the “Trump administration”.
He went on to cite Julius Caesar’s admiration for the Germanic warriors he encountered in battle, citing Germany’s history dating back to the Roman Empire. He called the AfD’s proposals “common sense” and accused the current German government of suppressing free speech and dissent. He said the world needed less centralized governance, including that of the European Union in Brussels, and stronger governance by individual countries.
“I think the fate of the world depends on this German election,” Musk said. “It’s very basic.”
Despite Musk’s support, the AfD has not gained much support in opinion polls ahead of parliamentary elections on February 23. Since Musk endorsed the party in a post in December, the percentage of voters who said they would vote for the party has increased by 1 percentage point to 21%.
Still, the AfD currently ranks second behind the main opposition party, the Christian Democrats, but ahead of Prime Minister Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats.
The party had an approval rating of 23% in late 2023, before the far-right party was rocked by a number of scandals, including the legal conviction of a regional leader for using a banned Nazi term.
All other parties in parliament have made it clear that they will not include the AfD in forming a new government after the elections.
recent votes It shows that three-quarters of Germans consider Mr Musk’s attempts to influence Germany’s elections “unacceptable”. The same poll found that 63% of respondents think Musk doesn’t understand German politics well.
