Two weeks ago, Elon Musk stirred unusual hysteria about the prospects and future of German democracy by tweeting that “only the AfD can save Germany.” In the days since, Musk has repeated the sentiment, both because he believes it, but also because (one suspects) he likes to troll unreasonable ridiculous people. German biens pensants can’t help but lose their minds every time Musk tweets anything positive about the AfD, and so Musk will probably never stop poking them by doing precisely this.
There are two reasons that they react in such absurd and self-defeating ways:
1) Musk’s tweets confront our political establishment with an outside view of the insane, benighted and insular politics they have imposed on the Federal Republic. This is very uncomfortable for an elite who larp as adult, serious and farsighted people, while advancing some of the craziest policies the West has ever seen.
2) Our political establishment are correspondingly anxious that none of their subjects get wind of what people like Musk think about German political lunacy, lest these subjects awaken to the depressing fact that they are governed by crazy people with totally crazy ideas removed from all real-world considerations.
Some days ago, Musk submitted an editorial to Welt am Sonntag explaining his advocacy of the AfD at greater length. On the one hand, Welt editors surely felt compelled to print his newsworthy op-ed, not least because it looks like Mathias Döpfner, head of Axel Springer (which publishes Welt), solicited it. On the other hand, the prospect of printing Musk’s editorial inspired great anxiety among Welt staff, because nobody in legacy media is eager to let ordinary Germans in on the secret that many people outside of the Federal Republic find our entire political culture exceedingly stupid.
Yesterday morning, Welt finally figured out how to square the circle. They published Musk’s text, headed by a bolded warning that his words “call out for refutation,” and followed by one of the dumbest rebuttals the world has ever seen – penned by none other than Welt chief editor Jan Philipp Burgard. Imagine being so terrified of the political opinions of a wealthy American industrialist with libertarian leanings, that you feel you can only print them surrounded by screeching disclaimers and flimsy schoolmarm refutations. Even this was not enough to assuage the outrage of many Welt reporters at the prospect of releasing this dangerous editorial infohazard into the wild. Welt opinion editor Eva Marie Kogel has even resigned in protest – that is how serious this is.
So that you may judge for yourself the depths of Welt’s offence against German political propriety and representative democracy, I provide Musk’s editorial in full:
Germany is at a critical juncture. Its future teeters on the brink of economic and cultural collapse. As someone who has made significant investments in German industry and technology, I believe I have the right to speak candidly about its political direction. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is the last spark of hope for this country.
Here are the reasons:
Economic renewal: The German economy, once the engine of Europe, is now mired in bureaucracy and stifling regulations. The AfD understands that economic freedom is not only desirable but also necessary. Their approach to restricting government overreach, lowering taxes and deregulating the marketplace reflects the principles that have made Tesla and SpaceX successful. If Germany wants to regain its industrial strength, it needs a party that not only talks about growth but also takes political action to create an environment in which companies can flourish without heavy government intervention.
Immigration and national identity: Germany has opened its borders to a very large number of migrants. While this was done with humanitarian intent, it has created significant cultural and social tensions. The AfD advocates a controlled immigration policy that prioritises integration and the preservation of German culture and security. This is not about xenophobia, but about ensuring that Germany does not lose its identity in the pursuit of globalisation. A nation must preserve its core values and cultural heritage to remain strong and united.
Energy and independence: The energy policy pursued by the current coalition is not only economically costly, but also geopolitically naive. Germany’s decision to phase out nuclear energy and instead rely heavily on coal and imported gas, as well as volatile wind and solar power, without the battery storage necessary to maintain a stable power supply, has left the country vulnerable, especially to power outages. The AfD has a pragmatic approach to energy and is advocating a balanced approach. I hope they will consider the expansion of safe nuclear energy combined with battery storage to cushion major fluctuations in electricity consumption, because that is the obvious solution.
Political realism: The traditional parties have failed in Germany. Their policies have led to economic stagnation, social unrest and the erosion of national identity. The AfD, even if it is labelled as far-right, represents a political realism that resonates with many Germans who feel their concerns are ignored by the establishment. It addresses current issues without the political correctness that often obscures the truth. The description of the AfD as far-right is clearly wrong when you consider that Alice Weidel, the leader of the party, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!
Innovation and the future: I have built businesses on the principle that innovation requires liberation from unnecessary constraints. The AfD’s vision is consistent with that ethos. It advocates educational reforms that promote critical thinking instead of indoctrination and supports the technology industries that represent the future of global economic leadership.
To those who condemn the AfD as extremist, I say: Don’t be fooled by the label. Look at its policies, economic plans and efforts to preserve culture. Germany needs a party that is not afraid to challenge the status quo and that is not mired in the politics of the past.
The AfD can save Germany from becoming a shadow of its former self. It can lead the country into a future where economic prosperity, cultural integrity and technological innovation are not just pipe dreams, but reality. Germany has become too comfortable in mediocrity – it is time for bold change, and the AfD is the only party that opens up this path.
I hope we can all agree that nothing Musk says here is very remarkable. He is a battery salesman who wants to sell Germany more batteries, and beyond his support for the AfD, his direct political observations would not be out of place coming from a centre-right CDU or CSU politician. This is an extremely moderate thing to freak out about.
This brings us to Burgard’s (or rather, Burgtard’s) rebuttal. Our valiant policeman of German political opinion at first confirms our initial impressions, conceding that “Musk is right when he sees our country in economic and cultural crisis”, and that “the failed migration, energy and social policies of the Merkel era and the traffic light coalition have put our prosperity at risk”. Indeed they have!
While Burgtard believes that “Musk’s diagnosis is correct”, he argues that “his approach… that only the AfD can save Germany, is fatally wrong”. I find it hard to see how that can possibly be true, and I mean this objectively. The CDU won’t be able to reverse “failed migration, energy and social policies” if they govern with the Greens or the Social Democrats. The only chance to address any of these problems lies with ditching the cordon sanitaire and forming a government with the AfD. All of this is so extremely simple, that there are really only two options for the honest editorialiser: One can argue that Germany is doing just great and that mass migration is fantastic and the energy transition is going swimmingly, or one can propose forming a right-of-centre government with the AfD.
Burgtard continues to say Burgtarded things:
Demands for bureaucracy reduction, deregulation and tax cuts are not wrong just because they come from the AfD. But Musk seems to be overlooking the geopolitical framework in which the AfD wants to position Germany. According to its election manifesto, the AfD “considers it necessary” for Germany to leave the European Union. For Germany as an export nation, that would be a disaster. More than half of all German exports go to the European single market.
With economic welfare gains of around 83 billion Euros per year, Germany benefits from the single market like no other country. According to a survey by the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW), 60 per cent of companies view the AfD’s position as a risk. The director of the IW, Michael Hüther, even describes the AfD as “poison for our economy”.
The AfD in a coalition with the CDU would be in no position to leave the European Union, so all of this is moot. Also too, though, the AfD are not opposed to the European single market, which is the sole source of all the benefits Burgtard adduces. The AfD are merely opposed to the bureaucratic behemoth that Brussels has become, which behemoth is actively strangling the German economy.
AfD co-chair Alice Weidel has been very clear about this, for example in her Bloomberg interview from a few weeks ago:
We don’t see that the European Union in its current state is an institution that is working well. What we need to have is free trade among the European countries, but we don’t need all the bureaucracy. … [W]e say, look, we don’t need a Commission that is actually destroying the foundation of our continent. What we need is free trade among the European countries…
[W]e think that the European treaties need to be reformed, so that every country within the European Union has the right, first of all, to have a veto against the Commission… And if a country wants to leave the European Union, why not by falling automatically into a free trade zone?
What the AfD actually propose, then, are EU-level reforms that will open to all member states the option of leaving the EU itself while remaining within the single market. Should these reforms be realised, the AfD would support leaving the EU while maintaining all of its prior EU-associated trade relationships. Now, you can agree with Weidel’s arguments or not, you can find her proposals realisable or reasonable or not, but what is very tiresome and also unsettling, is the outright refusal to address them at all, in favour of simply attacking strawman AfD policy proposals.
This is a pervasive problem: Establishment discourse always insists that the AfD is very bad, but when it comes time to explain why the AfD are very bad we get nothing but transparent lies and mischaracterisations about what the AfD stand for. Our betters want the AfD to be very bad in a way that it is not, and this raises profound questions about their real reasons for hating the AfD, and why they can never explain these reasons.
Burgtard continues:
Not only does the AfD question the European Union… but also the relationship with our most important transatlantic partner in trade and security policy. “The geopolitical and economic interests of the United States are increasingly diverging from those of Germany and other European states,” the AfD’s election manifesto literally states.
But the numbers tell a different story. In 2023, almost 10% of German exports went to the U.S., the highest figure in more than 20 years. Isn’t it in Germany’s interest that the US remains the most important customer for German exports? On the other hand, the U.S. is one of Germany’s top three importers. Wouldn’t Elon Musk want many Teslas to continue rolling down Germany’s motorways in the future?
This is such a crayon argument, honestly it is insulting that Welt editors expect me to swallow it. Two things can be true at once: American and European interests can be diverging, which is something that even high-level advisers in Trump’s own circles acknowledge; and the United States can remain an important trade partner for Germany.
There follows the usual tiresome nonsense about alleged Russia and Chinese sympathies within the AfD, thinly supported and disingenuous as always. Then Burgtard finally gropes his way to the problem of mass migration:
In terms of migration policy, Musk sees the AfD as the solution. Germany is indeed struggling with out-of-control immigration. But the AfD is floundering with unrealistic plans for the remigration of millions of people.
That is yet another lie. In their draft programme, the AfD demand primarily the deportation of illegal and criminal migrants, along with incentives to encourage voluntary repatriation.
Then it gets more ridiculous:
The CDU under Friedrich Merz… has woken up to [the migration] problem and wants to abandon Merkel’s uncontrolled do-gooder policy.
Sometimes you read things that are so ridiculous you don’t know whether to laugh or hit yourself in the face. Is a leading centre-right German newspaper really and truly asking me to believe the CDU has suddenly “woken up” to the very problem that its leading lights created and that many of its members still enthusiastically deny even exists? Is that possible?
To this end, the CDU has significantly tightened its stance, calling for push-backs at the border and faster deportations of rejected asylum seekers. Such measures show that there are alternatives to the far-right positions of the AfD.
Aside from the fact that the CDU migration programme now hardly differs from the AfD migration programme, except insofar as it reads like it was written for children with very limited attention span and reading comprehension, the CDU again will have significant problems doing any of this in a coalition with left parties.
To the extent that Musk considers the classification of the AfD as far-right to be “clearly wrong”, he is making a serious mistake. The AfD is not just Alice Weidel, but also Björn Höcke. Courts have said that it is legal to call Höcke a right-wing extremist. Höcke has also been convicted several times for using a forbidden Nazi slogan. “Alles für Deutschland!” – sounds like Hitler!
Specifically, one is allowed to call Björn Höcke a “fascist”, since a court ruled that calling Höcke a “fascist” falls within the bounds of freedom of expression. You will note that that does not remotely support the case that Björn Höcke is a fascist. Otherwise, Höcke repeated that obscure SA slogan unknowingly, as major German media have also done. These cheap Nazi smears are another dishonest tactic via which establishment mouthpieces hope to reject the AfD as a party without ever having to explain what, precisely, is wrong with them. Untold hundreds of activists in party apron organisations and NGOs have spent years scouring the speeches and publications of AfD politicians in search of minimally plausible parallels to big Nazi villains.
The real problem with the AfD is not that they are “right-wing extremists” or that they advocate for crazy Nazi self-destructive economic policies. Not even their qualified Euroscepticism can explain this hysteria. No, the real problem with the AfD is that their growing parliamentary representation is extremely inconvenient for the traditional German party ecosystem. The larger they get, the harder it becomes for the establishment parties to form majority coalitions, and the more the CDU will be forced to govern with leftist parties, who will make it impossible for them to deliver to their voters.
Right now, nobody has a solution to this problem, beyond an unending programme of freaking out about “the extreme right” in the weak hope of driving AfD supporters back into the arms of the Christian Democrats.
“The criticism of US billionaire Musk’s editorial continues unabated,” screams tagesschau (via the Deutsche Presse-Agentur):
CDU chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz describes the commentary as “invasive and presumptuous” …
SPD co-chair Saskia Esken said that our democracy is well-fortified and cannot be bought. “Anyone who tries to influence our election from the outside, anyone who supports an anti-democratic, inhuman party like the AfD, be it state-organised influence from Russia or the concentrated power of money and media from Elon Musk and his billionaire friends… must expect our fierce resistance,” she added…
Andreas Audretsch, [Green Party] campaign director, said tech billionaires or Chinese state-owned companies have the opportunity “to undermine our democratic discourse with their platforms and a lot of money”. He said that Musk was trying to do this “hand in hand with the right-wing extremists in the AfD”. This, he said, was “a danger for our democracy and freedom of expression in our country”.
This article originally appeared on Eugyppius’s Substack newsletter. You can subscribe here.
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That left foot forward article is hilarious. “Lesser known” was how they described daily sceptic, and Toby spreads false statements. Worth a read for the laugh out loud factor alone.
…and where on earth would they get the notion that millionaires want to play politics in the first place..? Oh, of course from the left leaning billionaires doing exactly that for their side….
The Spectator is a blog!
Hysterical! And ‘a danger to [our] democracy’ sound suspiciously like the same trope used constantly throughout the last couple of years.
The author clearly doesn’t realise that the pull ‘rightwards’ is merely us dogged centrists trying to hold the middle line while the left disappears off the cliff of totalitarianism. Why isn’t she bigging up left leaning blogs to counter this ‘dangerous’ precedent – or are they so good they don’t need the publicity?
“Is Justin Trudeau right to blame Canadian wildfires on climate change?”
I watched about 20 seconds of his statement in the Canadian Parliament, and concluded that he is mad as a bag of frogs. Utterly indoctrinated, or mentally ill.? Thats a toss of a coin.
I think his friendly uncle Klaus has interfered with him in some way
“MPs on Commons privileges committee consider sanctions on Boris Johnson supporters”
I’ve forgotten. Aren’t these people supposed to work for us..?
I went into an Oxfam shop in Sheffield yesterday. It was packed out with women, so not much of a boycott going on.
I’d wager 95% of people have no idea and no interest in questioning what this is and where its heading.
Are you sure?
Yes.. what actually is a Woman these days.. just asking for a friend..
Another day, another example the world is screwed up and wants our kids screwed up with it;
”The publisher of a new children’s book featuring a man in bondage gear and a woman with trans ‘top surgery’ scars has branded parents voicing objection as ‘homophobes’
‘Grandad’s Pride’ is the creation of Waterstones children’s book winning author and illustrator Harry Woodgate – who uses they/them pronouns – and is published by Andersen Press, who told MailOnline they stand by the product.
The children’s tome promises ‘to celebrate the power of community and the importance of LGBTQIA+ history’ and is highly regarded in some circles – even winning the Waterstones’ coveted children’s book prize.
The book’s publication also comes amid a storm over the controversial trans clinic the Travistock Centre, which is facing mass legal action from 1,000 families of children ‘who where rushed into taking life-altering puberty blockers’.”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12168561/Fury-LGBT-kids-title-called-Grandads-Pride-features-sexual-fetishes.html
No indoctrination going on here at all. Nada.
https://twitter.com/DrLoupis/status/1667231117957537807/photo/1
I can’t watch it , it’s all so pathetically obvious ! This assault on childrens minds & bodies is up there with Mengele but we have endure its circulation in our mental periphery !
For the love of all the gods and everything that is still normal and sane in the world, please tell me this is fake news!!!
”If you thought Democrats were done pushing the Covid hysteria, think again.
Despite announcing an end to the authoritarian Covid-19 government mandates, the Biden White House requires guests to practice social distancing and wear masks during their visit.
The mandates, however, will only target those who are unvaccinated.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will welcome the NCAA men’s and women’s national championship teams to “College Athlete Day” at the White House on Monday.
In an email from the White House Office of Legislative Affairs addressed to members of Congress, Covid protocols were listed, notifying lawmakers that they would need to show a negative Covid test before being allowed to attend the event. If unvaccinated, the attendees must wear a mask and social distance.
“Masking guidance: Fully vaccinated guests are not required to wear a mask on the White House grounds. Guests who are not fully vaccinated must wear a mask at all times and maintain at least six feet distance from others while on the White House grounds,” the email states.”
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/saraharnold/2023/06/10/wh-brings-back-face-masks-social-distancing-for-the-unvaccinated-n2624325
Of course ! They invented & are maintaining the whole shebang ! RFK was on the Mexican / WHOLE World border with the USA recently & get this !.. 7 million people have crossed said border since Biden was foisted upon us in his 3 criminal years as puppet Potus but covid bollocks still apply to documented travellers , Well I Never !
Contempt of Parliament? Meaning 1a below: they ain’t seen nothing yet.
Whoever is removing my last three posts give me a reason please.. I thought this was the home of free speech! Stop playing childish games..
By the way I’m taking screen shots of each question now..
In:
We find:
That’s rubbish! The BBC was lying by omission and so were vast swathes of the ‘mainstream media’.
Brendan O’Neill on Johnson: O’Neill is outraged by the ousting of Johnson from politics for cakes and beer, whilst Alistair Campbell was able to spin lies about a foreign country (Iraq), causing hundreds of thousands of deaths, and get away with it.
As a principle that’s fair enough. But let’s not forget what Johnson has said about Ukraine, and how he personally scuppered the possibility of a settlement in March 2022, resulting in the virtual depopulation of Ukraine’s young males (and the emigration of many more). The public lack of concern over that puts him on a par with Campbell.
“‘The BBC has a reputation as a truth-teller …..’”
BWAHAHAHAHAA. That hasn’t been true for years, the plandemic just made it more obvious.
I think it is true among large enough sections of the population for it to be a big problem. Most people I know either believe the BBC is neutral and truth-seeking or disgracefully right-wing.
““‘The BBC has a reputation as a truth-teller – but in Covid it did what the Government wanted’” – Current and former staff members say debate around lockdown at the corporation was often stifled, according to the Telegraph.”
It just so happened that the government line and the BBC’s sort of coincided, for a time. Do we really think the BBC would have enthusiastically supported a “do nothing in particular about covid” approach?
““the U.K.’s main Right-wing blogs”, which it says are “often propped up by millionaire donors’”
I’ve no idea if blogs “propped up” by rich donors are over-represented on the political right, but it would not surprise me if it were true. The political left have captured the MSM and big business, so it’s very hard for much that is “right wing” to establish itself – corporate money will not invest, advertisers will boycott, banks will refuse to process payments, anyone involved will be cancelled from their profession, big tech social media will take down their posts and remove their channels.
“What are the U.K.’s main Right-wing blogs and how influential are they?” – Left Foot Forward includes the Daily Sceptic in its list of “the U.K.’s main Right-wing blogs”, which it says are “often propped up by millionaire donors’ intent on using their money to play politics”. If any millionaire donors have some spare change, do get in touch.
I haven’t read the article yet but the first thing I’ve noticed is a large advertising banner across the bottom of Left Foot Forward’s page. When I attempted to dismiss the advert in order to get a better view of the article I was amused to find it replaced with ‘Ad served by Google’.
I wonder why ‘Right-wing blogs’ are ‘propped up by millionaire donors’? Could it be due to lack of funding from advertisers like Google?
Millionaire? Me? I wish.
Now, to actually read what they’ve written…
They complain about niche right-wing sites like Guido Fawkes but then point out the relatively large readership it has. But they don’t publish their own readership by comparison in the same article… Now which is more interesting and popular?
Even better: The article concludes with this footer:
But they do get Google advertising money.
“Is Justin Trudeau right to blame Canadian wildfires on climate change?”
NO! things do not spontaneously combust at 37°c!
Good Forest management does not prevent forest fire, it lessons them and regulates their size,makes them easier to control.
As I’ve mentioned, 85% of all wildfires are started by human activity! Find out how they started and put this “it was Climate change whot done it” crap to bed!
Damn right.
I work on moorland farms and moorland does not self-ignite, it needs assistance.
“Wildfires” – in the UK. It’s BS.
“Lockdown finished Boris – but for all the wrong reasons”
Boll#@ks to Bunty! We need a new fresh pool of right minded, free thinking, level headed, common sense leaders to make a decent proper future for all of us! Ditch all these corrupted arse holes and bring in the likes of DeSantis, Penn, Pierre Poilievre!
Let’s move on , Boris has nothing new! Stop hanging on!