Musk says Germany has ‘too much focus on past guilt’

Elon Musk told a meeting of the Alternative for Germany party last weekend that the country is “too focused on the guilt of the past”, an apparent effort to erase the shadow of the Nazis who influenced German descent. prevent extreme political parties from public life.

“It’s good to be proud of German culture, German values, and not lose it to the kind of multiculturalism that dilutes everything,” Mr. Musk said in a short video that was sent to thousands of members of the eastern city of Halle.

“We don’t want everything to be the same wherever there is one big soup,” Mr. Musk said. “You know we want to have things where they belong, you go to different countries and you experience different cultures and it’s unique and unique and good and — but the German government is taking measures to protect its citizens and doing that to ensure that the health and well-being of the German people are sought. “

Mr Musk’s comments came on Saturday, two days before an official ceremony in Poland to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, one of the country’s biggest commemorations. German calendar. His critics in Germany were very critical of his words and timing.

“South African Elon Musk’s enthusiasm for German right-wing radicals, for German pride, for the German people and for the German hand sign is astonishing,” wrote journalist Mathieu von Rohr satire in Spiegel, one of Germany’s largest magazines.

Mr Musk himself recently caused controversy in Germany and elsewhere by giving what was seen as a Nazi salute at a rally of supporters after Mr Trump’s inauguration.

The billionaire, an adviser to President Trump, endorsed the so-called AfD party in a post on the social media platform X late last year, then cited his position on immigration, the policy of energy and other issues. He has since confirmed his support, and tried to portray the party and its leadership as reasonable.

In doing so, he avoided flirting with Nazism and other moves by AfD members that have led Germany’s mainstream political parties to unite against cooperation with the organization.

German intelligence has officially classified parts of the AfD as extremist. A party leader was convicted last year of using banned Nazi language. Members of the party, including former members of the federal parliament, were implicated in several plots to overthrow the German government.

Mr Musk, however, has repeatedly praised the AfD. He hosted his candidate for chancellor, Alice Weidel, for a friendly interview this month at X. He spoke at the party conference at the weekend through video link, and said the party had the support of the “Trump administration”.

He continued to invoke the history of Germany since the Roman Empire, citing Julius Caesar’s praise of the German warriors he met in battle. He called the AfD’s proposals “absurd” and accused the current German government of oppressing free speech and dissent. He said the world needs less centralized governance, including from the European Union in Brussels, and stronger governance from individual countries.

“The fate of the world, I think, depends on this election in Germany,” Mr. Musk said. “It’s very basic.”

Despite the approval of Mr. Musk, the AfD has not gained much ground in opinion polls ahead of the February 23 parliamentary elections. Since the support of Mr. Musk’s party in the article in December, the percentage of voters who say they will vote for the party increased only one point, to 21 percent.

However, the AfD is currently in second place, behind the main opposition party, the Christian Democrats, but ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats.

In late 2023, before the hard-right party was rocked by a series of scandals, including the legal conviction of a regional leader for using a banned Nazi phrase, it voted on 23 party percent.

All other parties in parliament have vowed not to include the AfD in forming a new government after the election.

Recent polls show that three quarters of Germans see Mr. Musk will lead the German election as “unacceptable”. The same poll found that 63 percent of respondents thought that Mr. Musk did not know German politics very well.