Elon Musk participated via video link in the official opening of the election campaign of the far-right German party “Alternative for Germany“ (AfD) a month before the country's parliamentary elections on February 23, DPA reported, quoted by NOVA.
Addressing the crowd gathered before the speech of the party's leading candidate Alice Weidel, the billionaire said that the AfD is “the best hope“ for Germany and that there is nothing wrong with people “feeling proud“ of being German.
“Honestly, I think there is too much focus on the guilt of the past and we need to move forward. "Children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents or even their great-grandparents," he said.
He said Germany was suffering from "excessive bureaucracy from Brussels." "I really hope that the AfD will achieve a good result and that Alice Weidel will become chancellor," he said in a five-minute speech. Before hanging up, Musk gave a thumbs-up.
The roughly 4,500 AfD supporters in the hall in the central German city of Halle erupted in cheers. Weidel thanked Musk and wished the United States all the best under his close ally, President Donald Trump. She played on Trump's popular slogan and ended with the call: "Make Germany Great Again."
Musk's previous interventions in the German election campaign have sparked outrage, with critics accusing him of using his social media platform "Ex" to try to influence the outcome of the upcoming election, DPA reported. Musk recently said the AfD was "the only party that can save Germany" and earlier this month hosted a live chat on "Ex" with party leader Weidel.
Tens of thousands of Germans demonstrated against the growing influence of the far right at a rally in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin this evening, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
The protesters used lanterns and mobile phones to create what organizers called a “sea of lights“ directed against the “Alternative for Germany“ party (AfG).
According to police, the number of participants in the protest in the German capital is around 30,000.
The rally took place a month before Germans go to the polls for parliamentary elections, in which the anti-immigration and Eurosceptic AfD is expected to achieve a strong result.
Christoph Bautz, founder of the political pressure group “Campact“ and one of the initiators of the demonstration in Berlin, demanded that the main parties maintain their long-standing “firewall“ against working with the AfD.
He made a direct appeal to conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz, who is seen as the likely winner of the February 23 election and has promised to restrict migration if he becomes chancellor.
Bautz said that if Merz found common cause with the AfD to push through stricter immigration measures in parliament, then “a revolt of decent people would break out in this country”.
Merz has repeatedly stated that his CDU/CSU bloc will not form a government with the AfD. But he caused a stir this week by suggesting he was prepared to accept the party's support in parliament to push through his policies.
The protesters who gathered in front of the Brandenburg Gate chanted: "We are the firewall."
Many families with children were present.