It all started “like a promising romantic date between two nervous teenagers”, quips the Brussels media Politico.
During an exchange Thursday, January 9 on his social network Germans.
“The debate” see you quickly “filmed as an exercise in pure propaganda”, notes the Belgian daily The Echo. The boss of SpaceX and Tesla, who became an ally and financial supporter of Donald Trump during the Republican’s presidential campaign, once again called on the Germans to vote for this group founded by former Nazis.
During his discussion with Alice Weidel, Musk reiterated that, in his opinion, only the AfD could “save Germany”. If the population does not line up behind the far-right party, “the situation is going to get really, really worse in Germany,” he assured.
Nuclear energy and reducing bureaucracy
Discussing numerous subjects, Alice Weidel and Elon Musk notably agreed on the need for nuclear energy, the need to reduce bureaucracy, and even the dangers of illegal immigration.
“The conversation in English lasted a good hour, about seventy minutes, during which the listeners learned astonishing things about Germany,” remarks, also with irony, the South German newspaper. “That Angela Merkel was the country’s first green chancellor, that she destroyed the country’s industry with her policies because she only relied on the sun and the wind to produce electricity. And that Adolf Hitler was a communist.”
-Both Alice Weidel and Elon Musk also praised Donald Trump, whose treatment by the German media during the presidential campaign was “astounding”, according to the AfD leader. The German MP finally expressed her hope that the future American president will end the war in Ukraine. “I think Donald Trump will resolve this conflict very quickly,” Musk replied.
By supporting the AfD, Musk “defends its economic interests”
“On his European playing field, the richest man in the world defends a personal ideology, but also his economic interests”, analyse Time. “Just like the EU, Great Britain is in the process of adopting new legislation on moderation: the Online Safety Act”recalls the Swiss daily. However, the far-right parties that Musk supports, in addition to sharing the same ideological points of view, have “also a much more flexible reading of the constraints imposed on platforms like X”, social media expert Tristan Mendès France reminded the newspaper. “He knows very well that by attacking the British government as well as by supporting the AfD in Germany, he is supporting political parties which would be mechanically favorable to him in terms of business.”
“For their part, European far-right parties are recovering campaign funds and gaining visibility,” analyse Time.
In Germany, some observers fear that “this platform, offered to the AfD and not to its rivals, favors the far-right party, which is in second place in the most recent polls, with 21%, against 31% for the CDU and 15% for the SPD of Olaf Scholz”, underlines The Echo.
