On the 25th local time, elon Musk, an American tycoon and Donald Trump’s appointee as head of the“Ministry for Government Efficiency”, has made an unexpected video appearance at a campaign rally of the far-right alternative party in the eastern city of Halle, he called the AFD Germany’s“Greatest Hope”. Elon Musk’s move has raised fears of meddling in German and other European affairs ahead of elections for a new Bundestag, the lower house of Parliament, on February 23. On the same day, tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Berlin, Germany’s capital, Cologne and other places to express concern about the rise of far-right political parties and foreign interference.
Stand up for the afd once again
With just four weeks to go before the country’s next Bundestag elections, US billionaire Elon Musk has once again waded into the German election campaign with much fanfare, campaigning for the far-right AFD party, the German news agency reported. Alternative party on January 25 in the German city of Harley held an official campaign launch ceremony, Musk delivered nearly 5 minutes of speech via video link. “This election is very important,” Elon Musk said. “I think it will determine the fate of the whole of Europe and perhaps the world.”
Local 25, musk in the form of video“Unexpected appearance” of Germany’s far-right AFD party in the eastern city of Harley held a campaign rally. (visual China)
In his speech, Musk made a very controversial remark. Germans, he said, should take pride in their culture and values and not lose it in“Diluted pluralism”. Elon Musk said Germans were“Obsessed with the crimes of the past” and that children“Should not be punished for the sins of their parents or even their grandparents”. “We need to go beyond that.”. Reuters said musk was apparently referring to Germany’s history under Nazi rule. A gesture he made during the presidential inauguration in Donald Trump has caused a stir as it was deemed a Nazi salute. Like Donald Trump’s“Make America great again” campaign, the afd is anti-immigration, climate change denial, anti-multiculturalism and has declared war on the political establishment, the report said.
Earlier this month, Elon Musk made a video link with AFD leader Weidl to back the far-right party. More recently, Mr Elon Musk has frequently stood up for far-right parties in a number of European countries and publicly interfered in their elections or political affairs, for example by publicly calling on German chancellor Scholtz to“Step down as soon as possible”, blaming British Prime Minister Stamer and others has triggered discontent in many European countries. Some European media have accused musk of“Launching a new international campaign to directly interfere in elections in European countries and even plot to overthrow the current leaders of the Allies”.
Germans are worried
Many Germans are worried by the rise of far-right parties and foreign interference. Tens of thousands of people braved the bitter cold to take to the streets across Germany Sunday to protest. Agence France-presse said the day about 60 cities in Germany held protest rallies. The rallies were mostly peaceful, with demonstrators carrying slogans such as“Get the Nazis out” and“Choice is not an alternative”. The largest rallies were in Berlin and Cologne, where police put the numbers at 35,000 and 40,000 respectively, while the organisers of the Berlin March claimed that about 100,000 people took part.
Regarding Musk’s campaign for far-right parties, the British newspaper The Guardian quoted Munich community leader Nobloch on the 25th as saying that musk’s actions were“Extremely disturbing.” “What is worrying is not only Elon Musk’s interference in the German parliamentary elections, but also his support for an anti-democratic party.”.
AFD holds strong anti-immigration and anti-european integration views, and is regarded as a far-right party by German politicians and public opinion. The AFD currently has about 20% support in opinion polls, with the CDU-CSU coalition leading with about 30% .
Although Merz, the leading CDU leader, has pledged never to co-operate directly or indirectly with the afd, his policies are moving towards the afd. An Afghan asylum seeker killed a man and a 2-year-old boy in Aschaffenburg with a knife, Reuters reported Wednesday. “We are facing the rubble of a decade of false asylum and immigration policies,” said Mr Merz, who said that if he were elected chancellor, on his first day in office he will order permanent controls at all German borders, keeping out all“Illegal immigrants”. German chancellor Scholtz raised concerns, accusing Mr Merz’s plan of potentially violating constitutional principles. It is also blamed for encouraging a massive influx of asylum seeker and migrants in 2015.
Support for the far right in Germany has increased, but lessons need to be learned from the past, the BBC said Tuesday. Many Holocaust survivors fear Europe is forgetting the lessons of Auschwitz, the report said. “I want everyone to live together, Jews, Catholics, blacks, whites and others,” said Umlauff, a Holocaust survivor, who warned: The Holocaust is a consequence of the dominance of prejudice.
Europe faces multiple crises
“New York Times” said the German parliamentary elections are expected to be held on February 23, this will be the establishment of modern Germany since the fourth snap election. The moment reflects a new era of more divisive and unstable German politics. At present, european countries such as Germany and France are beset by several crises: How to revive their ailing economies, how to bridge widening social divisions, how to allay voters’ fears about immigration and how to resolve security dilemmas.
“European times” said, including Germany and other European leaders shouted“Europe must stand tall”, but to the United States to offer an olive branch. Scholtz, the German chancellor, told Davos yesterday that Europe must become stronger. He championed free trade and warned that tariffs and protectionism would damage global prosperity. But he also said the US remained the most important European partner, even under Donald Trump.
Britain’s“Guardian” 25, said a number of long-simmering external and internal crises are boiling in Europe. Taken together, they constitute the biggest test of the EU’s survival since its inception in the early 1990s. Polish prime minister Tusk warned of a“Spiritual crisis”, a“Palpable mood of uncertainty and loss”. The European economy as a whole lacks competitiveness, debt levels remain high and the working-age population is shrinking, the report said. Immigration is a shamefully unresolved issue. A pervasive internal crisis is bringing far-right populist parties to the fore. At the same time, Donald Trump’s“America first” policy threatens not only European trade, jobs and security, but also fundamental European values — democracy, freedom and the protection of minorities. Reported that Europe will face a difficult year, both from the internal enemy, also from the external enemy, but Europe“Is far from the end.”.