Elon Musk heaped praise on Germany’s far-right co-leader
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Elon Musk heaped praise on the “very reasonable” co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party as she and the tech billionaire discussed Adolf Hitler, Donald Trump and their existence. alien.
In the latest attempt by the world’s richest man to influence European politics, Musk hosted Alice Weidel for a chat on his social media platform support the AfD in the federal election on 23 February.
“I think Alice Weidel is a very reasonable person and hopefully people can see that just from this conversation,” he said. . . There’s nothing outrageous being suggested – just common sense.”
At its peak, about 200,000 people tuned in to Musk’s 75-minute livestream on X with Weidel, falsely billed as a “conversation with the leading candidate to run Germany.”
The AfD, much of which has been classified by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency as right-wing extremists, is polling around 19% and is on track to take second place in the country’s election. Europe’s best performance – a result that would be its best performance in a national vote.
However, reputable pollsters put Friedrich Merz and his center-right Christian Democrats in the lead, at around 31%.
Weidel, the AfD’s candidate for prime minister, repeatedly thanked Musk for the opportunity to speak without “interruptions or negative framing” — a situation she said was “completely new.”
She tried to portray her party, which calls for mass deportations of people of immigrant origin, as “conservative liberal”.
Musk, who has come under criticism from European leaders for meddling in German politics as well as in Britain, invited Weidel to reject comparisons between her party and the Nazis.
This prompted a discussion in which both host and guest argued that Hitler was not a right-winger but a socialist.
That claim, popular among far-right groups, has been refuted by historians. They claim that the Nazi movement oversaw the murder of 6 million Jews – as well as large numbers of Roma, disabled people, gays and communists – despite having little to do with communism. society. named itself the National Socialist German Workers’ Party.
One of the AfD’s most prominent politicians, the prominent figure Björn Höcke, was was convicted and fined for using banned Nazi slogans.
Musk’s support for the far-right party represents extraordinary intervention in the German election campaign by a key confidant of US president-elect Trump.
It has left mainstream parties in Germany extremely unsettled, as well as sparking fresh debate in Brussels over whether X and its owner broke EU digital rules by meddling in politics and amplify accounts that spread misinformation and extremist views.
The platform had around 4 million monthly active users in Germany in December, according to data from Similarweba digital market intelligence company.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz – whom Musk described as an “incompetent idiot” – responded to the Tesla chief executive’s intervention by emphasizing the need to “remain calm” and not “give cheaters eat”.
But Merz described a recent article by Musk, outlining his support for the far right, as an “unprecedented case of interference in a friendly country’s election campaign.”
The conversation between Musk and Weidel gradually turned from a discussion of core AfD topics, including migration, taxes and the benefits of nuclear energy, to an appeal from politicians to everyday businessmen. series to present his views on the conflict in the Middle East, Mars, the existence of aliens, and whether or not he believes in God.
Weidel also said she felt “physical pain” at the way German media and politicians treated Trump during the US presidential campaign and expressed hope he would end the conflict in Ukraine.
She also praised Musk for his “good words” and “vision.”
Additional reporting by Clara Murray and Javier Espinoza
