Aafter pouring at least $260 million to help Donald Trump get re-elected as US President, and handsomely rewarded for the job of leading a new government department, the world’s richest man is now training his eyes on Europe.
EC In Germany, he called Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz “a fool” and the party’s president an “anti-democratic dictator.” He is involved in a complex with the Alternative for Germany (AfD) – a party so extreme that it has received a reprimand. from others on the European right—ahead of key elections on Feb. 23.
Musk, who was born in South Africa, will have a lengthy interview live on X with AfD leader Alice Weidel on Thursday. It comes not long after he wrote an airy op-ed in the German press Die Welt am Samstag on Dec. 28 who affirmed his love for the anti-communist party, thinly veiled anti-Semitism, and pro-Russian tendencies.
Mainstream German politicians suspect that Musk’s rebellion is an “attack on German democracy.” Musk’s only argument so far is against the division of the extreme right of the AfD branches by the German intelligence services that Weidel is a woman he is in love with and a colleague from Sri Lanka.
Read more: How Elon Musk Became a Master Builder
Musk misunderstands the AfD. The billionaire Tesla founder has praised the AfD’s economic agenda but while he touts the neoliberal line, he does so sparingly and is not a source of its votes. East Germans, in particular, blamed free market policies for their post-unification struggles. The AfD does not win 30% of the vote in eastern Germany because of its economic policies, which are not written prominently at the top of its platform, but in spite of it.
If Musk had done his German political homework, he would have put his name behind the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) or the Free Democrats. These groups want tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy, exclusion of labor unions, reductions in welfare benefits, and reductions in environmental standards that disrupt market play. Musk instead backed a horse rejected by four-fifths of the German population.
His choice is starting to backfire. German NGOs and other companies have left X and there are calls to boycott Tesla and X. The Tesla gigafactory near Berlin – the product of the involvement of the Social Democrats, not the AfD – has always been at odds with German regulators, and now it will be more. you are less likely to get calls in our favor. Musk is directly opposed to the people he will need in the near future. Friedrich Merz, the leader of the CDU who is likely to be the next German Chancellor, called Musk’s. Die Welt op-ed “presumptuousness and presumptuousness.”
Part of the reason Musk’s approach to Europe will fail that post-war continental institutions were clearly designed to withstand brutal attacks and various crises. The very purpose of the European Prime Minister’s institution, the EU, is to deepen and expand democracy—and therefore to protect it, too.
When EU member states deviate too much, there are 20 other pillars to stabilize it. There is no better example than Hungary, which held the rotating presidency of the EU Council for the past six months—and accomplished nothing.
Although Europeans are unhappy about the economy and other problems, most respect democratic rights and criticize those who undermine them. Europeans are increasingly embracing the EU, environmental protection, and the post-war social market economy. It will not be easily changed into a business model (Musk’s idea) or a racist authoritarian state (AfDs).
Musk’s embrace of the AfD has sparked a heated debate in Germany about oligarchs. “Anyone who thinks such an uncontroversial opinion will influence [German] democracy underestimates power [Germany’s] open society,” argued Stern magazine.
Most Europeans want to prevent an autocrat like Trump from taking power, even if Hungary’s Orbán has shown it is possible. All democratic parties in Germany have decided to cooperate with the AfD by maintaining a strong “firewall” between them. In the UK, the Labor government is considering a legal limit on the amount a foreigner can contribute to UK-based companies. And in Romania, the courts canceled the presidential election amid allegations that it was improperly influenced by Russian money and disinformation.
Musk’s main goal is to stir up the debate until democracy collapses and the government can control the private sector. The best possible outcome is to reveal his motives publicly.
That would be a great start to the year that could bring more setbacks than many victories.
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