On December 20, 2024, tech billionaire and X owner Elon Musk posted (archived) on the site: “Only the AfD can save Germany. » Following this publication, which has been viewed more than 50 million times as of this writing, claims have abounded about the identity of the political party, whose full name is Alternative für Deutschland (English translation: Alternative for Germany).
(@elonmusk/X)
Musk doubled down on his claims in the following days, repeating (archived) his own and calling (archived) Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut a “big liar” after he told the media and wrote in X (archived) that the AfD was a “neo-Nazi party. “
According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine, a respected German weekly paper that collated several opinion polls carried out in Germany throughout December, the AfD is currently polling in second place for the country’s parliamentary election, expected in February 2025.
The party, led lately by federal spokesmen Tino Chrupalla and Alice Weidel, has seats in the German Bundestag, the country’s parliament, and is the largest of the opposition parties.
The Federal Agency for Civic Education, a German federal public authority that promotes democracy and political participation, described the AfD as a “right-wing populist party. ”
However, factions of the party have battled extremist or, as seen above, Nazi classifications for years. In 2020, the German domestic intelligence services (BfV) declared the party’s Der Flügel faction a “proven extremist endeavor.” Der Flügel, which translates to “The Wing,” had been under investigation for suspected extremism alongside the party’s youth faction, Junge Alternative, since 2019, according to the BfV. Following the classification, Der Flügel was dissolved following a vote in AfD in 2020.
In July 2024, the faction’s former leader, Björn Höcke, was fined several times for using the banned Nazi slogan “All for Germany” at an event. This was the second time Höcke had been fined for using the slogan. One of the fines reportedly looks good. Höcke was charged under Section 84(1)(4) of the German Criminal Code, which prohibits the dissemination of propaganda material “the content of which is intended to publicise the activities of a former National Socialist organisation”.
National Socialism is the political ideology practiced through Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party.
The German Penal Code includes further paragraphs, in particular on National Socialism (emphasis added):
(3) Whoever approves, denies or minimizes publicly or in assembly an act committed under the regime of National Socialism of the type indicated in article 6 (1) of the Code of Crimes contrary to International Law in a way that causes disturbance or disruption of order public will be punished with a prison sentence of not more than five years or a fine.
(4) Whoever publicly or during a meeting disturbs public order in a way that violates the dignity of the victims, approving, glorifying or justifying National Socialist tyranny and arbitrariness, will be punished with a custodial sentence of up to three years or one maximum prison sentence. maximum criminal penalty of 3 years. GOOD.
Aside from Höcke’s individual charges, the AfD itself has not been found guilty of breaches of the above sections of the German Criminal Code pertaining to national socialism.
The AfD was founded in 2013, after the euro crisis. The party continues to advocate for Germany’s withdrawal from the eurozone (the organization of countries that use the euro as their currency). In 2024, a policy posted on its online page said Germany would “leave the union and leave the eurozone. “
On immigration, the party wrote: “The borders must be closed immediately in order to immediately put an end to the unregulated mass immigration of predominantly professionally unqualified people into our country and its social systems.”
On religion, the party wrote: “The AfD fully recognizes freedom of belief and religion. However, it demands that legislation establishes limits on the practice of religion. ” In the political section titled “Islam has no position in Germany”, the party calls for “a general ban on the full veil in public spaces and public services. ” It should be noted that this policy is encouraged through a similar law in France and is therefore not express for the AfD.
On the key issue of abortion, AfD’s policy reads as follows:
Unborn children also have a right to life. Far too often, this right is subordinated to self-realization or social fears about the future. The AfD wants to prevent such fears by providing concrete help for families in all situations, in particular by facilitating and promoting the life-saving option of adoption. Conflict counseling must actually serve to protect life.
We reject all efforts to declare the killing of the unborn a human right.
Further to this, the party also dismissed “gender research” as “not a serious science,” stating that under its policies: “The federal and state governments are no longer allowed to provide funding for “gender research” or to fill “gender professorships.”
Translations in this article are provided by DeepL.com.
be. “Euro | Finance | EU”. Alternative für Deutschland, June 28, 2017, https://www. afd. de/euro-finanzen-eu/.
—. ” Family | Bevölkerung. ” Alternative für Deutschland, 25 June 2017, https://www. afd. de/familie-bevoelkerung/.
—. ” Zuwanderung | Asyl. ” Alternative für Deutschland, 26 June 2017, https://www. afd. de/zuwanderung-asyl/.
“Deutscher Bundestag – Sitzverteilung des 20. Deutschen Bundestages.” Deutscher Bundestag, https://www.bundestag.de/parlament/plenum/sitzverteilung_20wp. Accessed 20 Dec. 2024.
@DrewPavlou. “The AfD is a pro-China and pro-Russia party that seeks to sabotage and subvert the West. ” X, December 20, 2024, https://x. com/drewpavlou/status/187004699670660979.
Statistics. ” Current of Germany. ” Statistical Bundesamt, Statistical Bundesamt, https://www. destatis. de/EN/Themes/Society-Environment/Population/Current-Population/_node. html.
data. ” AfD. ” Alternative for Germany, https://www. afd. de/. Accessed December 20, 2024.
Euro-Zone Debt Crisis | Causes, Impact & Solutions | Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/euro-zone-debt-crisis. Accessed 20 Dec. 2024.
Franzmann, Simón. “AfD (dies)”. bpb. de, https://www. bpb. de/kurz-knapp/lexika/handwoerterbuch-politisches-system/511455/die-afd/. Accessed December 20, 2024.
“German Court Convicts a Prominent Far-Right Politician for Using a Nazi Slogan Again.” AP News, 1 July 2024, https://apnews.com/article/germany-far-right-politician-conviction-nazi-slogan-ccda2b9beef36efd124c2ae610681bf8.
German Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch – StGB). https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_stgb/englisch_stgb.html#p0013. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.
Murphy, Chris. ” The disconnected billionaire who runs Trump’s new leadership announced last night that he enthusiastically supports neo-Nazis in Germany. “X, December 20, 2024, https://x. com/ChrisMurphyCT/status/1870110504821145635.
Musk, Elon. ” Only the AfD can save Germany. “X, December 20, 2024, https://x. com/elonmusk/status/1869986946031988780.
—. “The classical political parties in Germany have failed the people. ” X, December 21, https://x. com/elonmusk/status/1870488903452676105.
—. “What a big liar. ” X, 20 December 2024, https://x. com/elonmusk/status/1870198951531688200.
Nazism | Definition, Leaders, Ideology, & History | Britannica. 13 Dec. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/event/Nazism.
@pesach_lattin. “Musk Just Endorsed the Far Right Party of Germany AfD.” X, 20 Dec. 2024, https://x.com/pesach_lattin/status/1870106463324254488.
@pnwbureblood. “The AfD turns out to be quite solid. They need to leave the EU and the euro, which would be a smart thing for Germany. ” X, December 20, 2024, https://x. com/pnwbureblood/status/1870169653571661908.
“Presse.” BundesamtfuerVerfassungsschutz, http://www.verfassungsschutz.de/DE/service/presse/presse_node.html. Accessed 20 Dec. 2024.
“Sonntagsfrage: Actuel Wahlumfrage zur Bundestagswahl 2025”. FAZ. NET, https://www. faz. net/aktuell/politik/bundestagswahl/sonntagsfrage-aktuelle-wahlumfrage-zur-bundestagswahl-2025-19459939. html. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
Staatsanwaltschaft Halle. Staatsanwaltschaft Halle Erhebt Weitere Anklage Gegen Björn Höcke Wegen Verwendens von Kennzeichen Verfassungswidriger Organisationen. https://presse.sachsen-anhalt.de/staatsanwaltschaft-halle/2024/04/03/staatsanwaltschaft-halle-erhebt-weitere-anklage-gegen-bjoern-hoecke-wegen-verwendens-von-kennzeichen-verfassungswidriger-organisationen. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.
Laerke Christensen is a journalist based in London, England, with expertise in OSINT reporting.