Musk supports far-right German party, supports far-right in Italy, UK, neo-Nazi 'resurrection'

Musk supports far-right German party, supports far-right in Italy, UK, neo-Nazi 'resurrection'

Tesla CEO Musk supports far-right German party and supports far-right in Italy and UK, and 'America First' is becoming the foundation of neo-Nazi in the European far-right.
Elon Musk, the world's richest man and a close associate of US President-elect Trump, supported the German far-right party AfD, which is linked to neo-Nazis and classified as a "confirmed extremist" by Germany's domestic intelligence service on the 21st.
In a post on his own X that day, Musk referred to the anti-immigrant party 'Alternative for Germany' with the German initials AfD. The New York Times reported on the 22nd that Musk's post, which received more than 25 million views in about 10 hours, "came as Germany began its aggressive election campaign. Germany is scheduled to hold a snap election on February 23 after Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-party coalition collapsed in November, and by doing so, he is interfering in German politics at a moment of extreme turmoil while also using his influence in Washington to sabotage a bipartisan spending deal that would have prevented a government shutdown on Christmas." Musk's post began as a response to an English-language video by 24-year-old German far-right influencer Naomi Seibt, a member of parliament, amid heightened tensions over the collapse of Germany's coalition government and the possibility of an early election. German far-right AfD lawmaker Seib has been increasingly critical of Chancellor Merz, who is leading in the polls, and has been gaining traction in the former East Germany, where far-right nationalist ideology and Islamophobic messaging are gaining traction, particularly in the economically backward former East Germany.

Since acquiring X in 2022, Musk has been expanding his support for far-right extremists by directly expressing his views on domestic and international politics in the United States.
Musk has repeatedly offered support for Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, the leader of the far-right League party, who was indicted five years ago for illegally refusing to dock a migrant boat in Italy.
Musk has publicly attacked the British Labour government, saying “civil war” is needed, and has backed far-right politician Nigel Farage for his support of the far-right anti-immigrant party Reform UK. Musk, who led the shutdown in the United States due to budgetary issues, met with Farage and the new far-right Treasury Secretary Nick Candy at Trump's Florida mansion Mar-a-Lago on the 16th and talked about Musk's "possibility of donating" to the "British Reform" party.
The New York Times said of Musk's "donation" controversy regarding the British far-right politician, "Musk has yet to issue Farage a donation cheque, and British lawmakers are urging the government to strengthen campaign finance laws to limit foreign donations," and "Musk has left little doubt about his support," and continued to actively support him.

British lawmaker Farage posted a photo of Musk and Candy posing together in front of a portrait of President Trump on social media with the caption, "Britain needs reform," to which Musk replied, "Of course."
Musk's support for the British far-right party was confirmed through repeated online fights with the British Labor government.

The UK has seen anti-immigrant riots across the country since a stabbing incident at a dance studio on August 8, and Musk used his X platform to criticise the Labour government for “using police state tactics to go after people spreading misinformation”.
Musk’s online post claiming “civil war” in the UK was inevitable was accompanied by a post claiming “Britain is turning into a police state” after Prime Minister Keir Starmer proposed a contingency plan to ease pressure on overcrowded prisons, allowing defendants to be held in cells longer until space is available.

The far-right’s support in Germany came in early December, when Christian Lindner, leader of the small, pro-business Free Democrats party, suggested that “Germany should look to Musk and Millais as they think about disruption and reform”. The far-right party backed by Musk attempted to overthrow the government in November, and German police arrested eight people suspected of being members of a right-wing extremist terror group in the eastern state of Saxony last month for an alleged attempt to overthrow the government.
Three of the eight arrested were members of the AfD party and one was an elected local official.

News that members of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) had attended secret meetings with Austrian far-right agitator Martin Sellner, who once admitted to being a member of a neo-Nazi group and has called for mass deportations of immigrants, sparked mass protests in Germany earlier this year.
Since May, Germany’s far-right party has twice fined a top member of its party for using Nazi-era slogans during campaign speeches.

A German court has convicted a prominent far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) member of the party of using banned Nazi slogans in a 2021 election campaign speech. The ruling, handed down on May 14, 2024, saw a panel of four judges fine Björn Höcke, the AfD leader in the eastern state of Thuringia, €13,000 (about $14,000).

The New York Times reported on the ruling, saying, “The trial, which Mr. Höcke’s lawyers have tried to portray as a fight for political freedom, has been closely watched because of the AfD’s expected significant electoral gains in state elections this year and Mr. Höcke’s well-documented extremist views.” “At the trial that began last month in Halle, Mr. Höcke admitted to using the phrase ‘all for Germany’ but claimed he had ‘no idea about its Nazi origins’ and compared the slogan to President Trump’s ‘America First.’”

Adam Kinzinger, a former Republican congressman from Illinois and a Trump critic, wrote on X about Musk's support for the far-right German party, "It's literally a neo-Nazi party. It's not a joke." "This drug-addled billionaire thinks he runs the world."

"This is not normal," Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, told CNN. "What Elon Musk thinks tends to end up being what the President of the United States thinks. And if the United States takes an official stance supporting the neo-Nazis in Germany, it would be absolutely disastrous," he said on the 21st.

See <German Intelligence Agency Surveillance of Far-Right Parties Strikes, Korean Intelligence Agency Surveillance of Far-Right Encourages Far-Left, December 17, 2024>