CNN
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Elon Musk on Thursday praised the co-leader of Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as “very reasonable” and urged Germans to vote for the far-right party. European politics.
“Only the AfD can save Germany, end of story. People really need to support the AfD, otherwise the situation in Germany will get very, very bad,” Musk said of the party. He spoke on an audio livestream with co-leader Alice Weidel. X.
Mr Musk, a close ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, compared the political situation in Germany to that of the US, saying when they voted for Mr Trump in November, people were dissatisfied and wanted change. said. Germany will hold its own elections on February 23rd.
“If you’re not happy with the way things are, you have to vote for change. That’s why I urge people to vote for the AfD,” Musk said.
He went on to claim that the next president will resolve Russia’s war in Ukraine “very quickly,” and Weidell said the incoming Trump administration will “end that terrible war” because “the Europeans can’t do it.” He said he hoped that.
“They are totally dependent on the United States in the sense of, ‘Oh, we need the United States to do all the work.’ We don’t have to do anything. We’re just going to escalate the whole conflict against Russia. “What’s going on here is extremely dangerous, and you’re basically the only one who can stop it,” Weidell told Musk.
Weidel also said it was “unbelievable” how Germany treated Trump during the presidential campaign and said he felt “physical pain” seeing him “disrespected”. Ta.
In the same conversation, Weidel said Germany needed to not only protect the existence of Israel, but also “fulfill its responsibility as a German nation-state to protect Jewish lives” threatened by “Muslim crimes.” He said there is.
She claimed that the AfD was the “sole protector of the Jewish people” in Germany.
As the world prepares for President Trump’s imminent return to the White House, Musk is at odds with the leaders of European countries, particularly Britain and Germany, over his political activities abroad.
American billionaires have increasingly expressed support for the far right in Europe and appear keen to strengthen ties between these parties and the Trump campaign.
Another example of this is the burgeoning relationship between Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the Trump campaign, with Meloni being entertained at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend and praised by the president-elect as a “wonderful woman.” Ta.
Musk has publicly announced his support for the AfD ahead of Germany’s snap election on February 23, which ranks second behind the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) led by former Chancellor Angela Merkel. This is expected to be the case.
“Only the AfD can save Germany,” Mr. Musk wrote to X on December 20, after the German government collapsed the same week, to which Mr. Weidel responded at the time: you are completely right!
Musk also called German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier an “anti-democratic tyrant” after he voiced opposition to foreign interference during a speech on dissolving parliament, and said he was “an anti-democratic tyrant” after a car crash in Germany. He called for the resignation of Prime Minister Olaf Scholz following the fatal attack. In his post, Mr. Magdeburg described X as an “incompetent idiot.”
Mainstream German politicians are not happy with Musk’s public support for the AfD, with Social Democratic Party (SPD) co-leader Lars Klingbeil comparing him to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In his New Year’s address, Scholz even said that the fate of the country rests with the German people, not with the “owners of social media platforms.”
Musk has already stoked fears in Germany over election interference, and Thursday’s livestream could be seen as an example of that.
The latest escalation of tensions comes amid a European Commission investigation into Musk’s Platform X and possible violations of the Digital Services Act (DSA).
Thierry Breton, former head of the EU internal market who oversaw the implementation of the DSA, joined X ahead of Thursday’s livestream and said: “A systematic platform that is allowed to operate within the EU under strict regulations. As a European citizen concerned about the proper use of the To protect. ”
“I believe it is important to remind you…that your counterpart (Mr. Musk) should once again fully respect all of our obligations under EU law.” he added.
At the same time, Reuters reported that Germany’s lower house of parliament said it was investigating whether Musk’s live chats could constitute illegal interference in the election campaign.
