News
Germany’s
far right seeks electoral legitimacy from Trump administration
The AfD is
using Elon Musk’s endorsement to reach out to Donald Trump — and to appear more
acceptable at home ahead of a national election.
January 13,
2025 4:00 am CET
By James
Angelos
Germany’s
nationalist far right is increasingly looking to ideological allies abroad to
give it the legitimacy it craves at home.
That was
evident at a convention of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on
Saturday when Alice Weidel, the party’s chancellor candidate, thanked
billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk for streaming the event on his X account,
where it was viewed by millions around the world, giving the party a much
bigger stage than it is accustomed to.
“I would
like to thank Elon Musk, who is live streaming this party conference so that
everyone can see what we are doing politics for,” Weidel said during her speech
to enthusiastic cheers. “Everyone should see it.” Switching to English, she
added: “Freedom of speech!”
The AfD has
been energized by Musk’s endorsement ahead of a national election Feb. 23. Not
only is he promoting the party on his platform, but AfD leaders see Musk, a
close adviser to United States President-elect Donald Trump, as a key link to
the incoming U.S. administration.
In a display
of their desire to forge closer ties, AfD delegates adopted a motion on
Saturday to build closer relations between Germany and the U.S., and in
particular with the future Trump administration. Marc Jongen, an AfD member of
the European Parliament, described the motion as a “thank you” to Musk.
The AfD, a
Russia-friendly party that wants closer relations with the Kremlin, isn’t known
for housing a strong pro-America faction. Rather, many AfD politicians resent
what they view as U.S. postwar domination of Germany. In a recent interview
with the American Conservative bimonthly magazine, Weidel said Germans are a
“defeated people” and suggested Germany is a “slave” to the U.S.
But for AfD
leaders, Trump could redefine America’s role in the world and become a close
ally.
Weidel
suggested as much during her convention speech, implying that an AfD-led
government would be uniquely placed to pursue strong ties with both the Kremlin
and the Trump administration — making Germany, in the still far-fetched
scenario that it leads Germany’s government after February’s election, a bridge
between Putin and Trump.
The AfD “is
the only party that has all channels of communication open to the East and the
West,” she said.
The AfD’s
defenders abroad
The Trump
administration hasn’t clearly thrown its support behind the AfD, but Musk’s
advocacy for the party has at least sparked some interest in high places.
Earlier this
month, Vice President-elect JD Vance reposted on X an English-language
translation of Musk’s opinion piece in Germany’s Welt am Sonntag newspaper, in
which he called the party the “last spark of hope” for the country.
“I’m not
endorsing a party in the German elections, as it’s not my country and we hope
to have good relations with all Germans,” Vance wrote. “But this is an
interesting piece.”
Vance went
on to defend the party, claiming the “American media slanders AfD as
Nazi-lite.”
Many German
mainstream leaders, including conservatives, have warned that the AfD peddles
Nazi ideology; meanwhile, Germany’s federal domestic intelligence agency has
classified it as a suspected right-wing extremist organization. The party’s
leader in the eastern German state of Thuringia, Björn Höcke, has been found
guilty of using a banned slogan employed by Adolf Hitler’s SA storm troopers; a
German court once ruled Höcke could justifiably be called a fascist.
A defense of
the party from someone of Vance’s stature serves to undermine warnings from
German officials, potentially legitimizing the AfD among voters. It also raises
questions about the likely warmth of relations between the Trump administration
and the next German government, which, according to current polls, is likely to
be led by conservative chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz.
Merz’s
conservatives, like other German parliamentary parties, have vowed not to
govern with the AfD. But party leaders are playing the long game, hoping to
build enough popularity over time that other parties find it impossible to
exclude them.
It’s still
far from clear that Musk’s endorsement of the AfD will help it in that regard,
even as polls show the party has become more popular in recent weeks. The AfD
is in second place behind Germany’s conservatives in polls, with support of
around 21 percent.
There are
also other sources of foreign support much closer to home that could also
benefit the AfD.
One of the
biggest boosts for the party may come from Austria, where the successes of
Herbert Kickl and his far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) — who appear poised to take
power in Vienna after coalition talks among mainstream parties collapsed
earlier this month — have emboldened German far-right leaders, who see in
Austria a roadmap for how they too might one day take power.
AfD leaders
view the FPÖ as a “sister party,” and feel that should their Austrian sibling
take power, it could further destigmatize the AfD in the eyes of German voters.
“Austria is
ahead of us in terms of development,” Höcke, the AfD’s Thuringia leader, wrote
in a post on X.
Embracing
extremism
Just a year
ago, things weren’t looking so rosy for the AfD.
Last
January, outraged Germans took to the streets in huge numbers to protest
against the radical right after an investigative report by Correctiv revealed
that AfD politicians had been present at a meeting of right-wing extremists, at
which a “master plan” to deport migrants and “unassimilated citizens” en masse
was discussed. The attendees euphemistically dubbed the plot “remigration.”
The
sustained protest movement, which drew millions in cities across the country,
appeared to damage the AfD — leading many Germans to question whether the
demonstrators had put a halt to the party’s rise. Even France’s far-right
leader Marine Le Pen moved to distance herself from the AfD, if only in a bid
to depict her own party as more palatable for French voters.
A year
later, however, the AfD has largely recovered, and is approaching the
record-high polling numbers it enjoyed before the protest movement. During that
time, Trump was elected on a platform that included a promise to carry out mass
deportations.
In an
illustration of how extremist ideas can rapidly become normal with a little
rhetorical resonance from the party’s friends across the Atlantic, the AfD’s
national leaders, who used to avoid the euphemism “remigration” in light of the
controversy, are now fully embracing the term.
During her
speech at the AfD convention, Weidel vowed to seal Germany’s borders and enact
“large-scale repatriations” once in power.
“I have to
tell you quite honestly: If it’s to be called remigration, then it’s just
called remigration,” Weidel declared to spirited applause.
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