An election Elon can’t buy

‘m not sure Elon Musk’s politics are in fact an unfathomable mystery:

Elon Musk is backing the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), triggering an outcry in Berlin in the run-up to a critical snap election.

“Only the AfD can save Germany,” the billionaire X owner wrote on the platform on Friday in the latest of a series of endorsements of European far-right parties.

Musk has recently supported European populist-right politicians in increasingly clear terms, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. Earlier this week, Farage boasted that Musk is “right behind” him — and raised the prospect that the tech tycoon would financially back his Reform UK party.

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The AfD is surging despite its growing radicalism and persistent warnings from mainstream leaders that it is an extremist, even Nazi, party. Growing support for the far right comes despite state-level domestic intelligence authorities classifying some local branches of the party as extremist organizations aiming to undermine German democracy.

This would also resolve the question of whether Musk is only pretending to be a ultra-reactionary crank for the tax cuts [he’s not] if there was any real doubt before this.

There is one major difference in political context:

Musk, a U.S. citizen — who spent more than a quarter-billion dollars to help elect Trump — is considering donating up to $100 million to support Farage’s right-wing party in the U.K., according to media reports.

He wouldn’t be able to support the AfD in the same way. Non-EU foreigners are only allowed to donate up to a maximum of €1,000, according to German law.

Does not permitting foreign businessmen to buy elections mean that Germany does not have “free speech”? I’m going to answer that with a big”no.”