Elon Musk urges far-right German party to move beyond ‘past guilt’

Elon Musk's speech comes amid debate over whether he made a Nazi-style salute at inauguration rally. Photo / Getty Images

Greeted by loud cheers, Elon Musk virtually delivered a short speech today at a rally for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, in which he urged the crowd to not be ashamed of their country’s history.

Musk’s appearance comes amid debate over whether a gesture he made twice during an inauguration rally was a Nazi-style salute, which he denies. He was introduced by Alice Weidel, the AfD’s candidate for chancellor. At the rally in Halle, Musk encouraged the roughly 4500 attendees to be proud of their German heritage.

“There is too much focus on past guilt, and we need to move beyond that. Children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents, let alone their great-grandparents,” Musk said, seeming to reference the country’s history when the Nazis rose to power.

“You should be optimistic and excited about a future for Germany,” said Musk, as the crowd applauded.

The SpaceX CEO reiterated his praise for AfD, telling supporters: “I think you’re the best hope for Germany.”

Weidel thanked Musk for his support after his remarks and said “Make Germany great again!”, echoing President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.

The same day, protesters took to the streets in Berlin and Cologne, singing anti-fascist songs and denouncing the AfD.

“Those who fuel racism and attack climate protection are not just campaigning, they are endangering lives,” Luisa Neubauer, a climate activist, told the crowd, according to the Associated Press. Police say about 35,000 protesters showed up in Berlin, while the Cologne rally had about 40,000 attendees.

The AfD is considered by Germany’s domestic intelligence service to be a suspected extremist organisation. The party’s youth arm and its regional AfD branches in three of Germany’s 16 states are classified as “confirmed right-wing extremist”.

Musk backed the AfD in late December, which drew a harsh rebuke from the German Government accusing the tech mogul of “trying to influence the federal election”. The election is set for February 23, seven months earlier than originally scheduled after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a vote of confidence in mid-December.

On January 9, Musk interviewed Weidel on X, the social platform he owns. The two agreed that German’s education sponsored a “wokeish, leftist” agenda and said that speech regulations were comparable to Adolf Hitler’s media censorship.

The interview had about 200,000 listeners.

– Agence France-Presse