Oliver Towfigh Nia
29 January 2025•Update: 29 January 2025
- Berlin strongly rejects Trump’s resettlement plans for Gaza
BERLIN
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticized once again the support of US tech billionaire and Donald Trump confidant Elon Musk for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, calling it “despicable”, media reports said Wednesday.
Scholz told journalists on the sidelines of an election campaign event in Berlin that as a Social Democrat he was used to rich media entrepreneurs interfering in German politics.
What is new, however, is that Musk is campaigning for right-wing politicians across Europe, he said.
“And that is really disgusting. And it is not good for democratic development throughout the European Union.”
Musk had repeatedly spoken out in favor of the AfD in recent weeks ahead of the Feb.23 general elections, had a conversation with the AfD leader Alice Weidel on his online platform X and took part in an AfD election campaign event via video over the weekend.
Ahead of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp in Auschwitz, the US president advisor on government efficiency complained that Germany was putting "too much focus on past guilt."
Scholz reacted by strongly criticizing Musk’s statement on this issue.
“We are very gldd that the United States liberated our country (from the Nazis) and helped us become a democracy again,” he said.
"And that's why I'm so angry that Elon Musk supports the extreme right and doesn't respond appropriately to the murder of so many Jews and other people in Europe that was committed by Germans in the past," the chancellor added.
The criticism comes amid growing concerns in Germany about the rise of far-right movements, particularly the AfD which Scholz accuses of seeking to divide the country through anti-immigrant rhetoric. Musk has openly advocated for the party, saying on his X platform: “Only the AfD can save Germany.”
Scholz also renewed his firm stance against far-right extremism, emphasizing that such movements pose a direct threat to Germany's democratic values, while highlighting how immigrants have strengthened German society through their vital contributions in healthcare, education, and industry.
Trump’s Gaza resettlement plans
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has also strongly rejected US President Donald Trump's statements about the resettlement of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
“In view of current public statements, I say very clearly that any resettlement plans, the idea that the citizens of Gaza will be expelled to Egypt or Jordan, is not acceptable,” said Scholz.
He said: "The perspective must continue to be a two-state solution, with a peaceful coexistence of Israel and a Palestinian state. Peace can only come about if you have hope for your own self-governing future."
