Elon Musk tells Germany's far-right AfD it's the 'best hope for the future'

Ahead of next month's legislative elections, tens of thousands of German citizens held rallies to protest against the far-right. At the same time, US tech billionaire Elon Musk again publicly supported the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Musk told thousands of AfD supporters gathered in the eastern city of Halle via video link on Saturday that their party was “the best hope for the future of Germany.” He also stated that “it’s good to be proud of German culture, German values, and not lose those in some kind of diluted multiculturalism.”

At the rally site, AfD supporters shouted their approval while the party's co-leader, Alice Weidel, looked on with a smile. Meanwhile, protests against the AfD took place in cities across Germany. The rallies in Berlin and Cologne were the largest, with police increasing participation numbers to 35,000 and 40,000 respectively. Berlin organizers claimed that the protest in the capital attracted 100,000 participants.

Protesters in Berlin formed a “light of democracy” with their mobile phones in front of the Brandenburg Gate and held up letters spelling out "Hope and Resistance." The AfD is polling at around 20% in the run-up to the German election on February 23, a record number for a party that has broken the post-World War II taboo in Germany against supporting the far-right. The mainstream conservative CDU/CSU alliance is polling at around 30%, with CDU leader Friedrich Merz the most likely candidate to become chancellor after the election.

Musk, who was once embedded in the Trump administration, stated at the AfD rally, “I think the upcoming German election is extremely important. I think it could decide the fate of Europe, and maybe even the world.” In recent weeks, Musk has made comments on social platform X supporting the AfD and other far-right politicians in other countries, including the UK, which has unsettled European politicians. He has also come under scrutiny for a gesture he made publicly this week that some observers interpreted as a Nazi salute, which he has denied is slanderous.

Like Trump, the AfD opposes immigration, denies climate change, attacks gender politics, and declares war on political institutions and mainstream media that they claim restrict freedom of speech. Anti-AfD rallies were held in about 60 towns and cities at the call of several organizations, attracting more people than police had initially anticipated. CDU's Merz has also come under criticism, with many protesters worried that he might break his party's policy of refusing to negotiate a coalition with the AfD.

Protests also took place in the southern city of Aschaffenburg, further inflaming the debate about immigration following a fatal knife attack by an Afghan migrant in the city this week. Additionally, in the eastern city of Halle, where Musk addressed the AfD rally, thousands also attended protests, leading to some clashes. Halle police stated that they have launched criminal investigations into offenses including assault, insults, and disruption of traffic. Weidel stated at her rally that migrants in Germany must be sent back to their countries of origin.