Elon Musk’s ongoing vocal support for far-right political parties in Europe is “really disgusting” and a hindrance to democratic development, Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Tuesday of Donald Trump’s “best buddy.”
Scholz blasted the world’s richest man for his recent comments, made during an appearance at a campaign event for the right-wing Alternative für Deutschland party.
Musk urged Germans at the event to move beyond guilt for a past that includes the murder of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust.
Musk, who has remained very close to Trump since his inauguration, has also thrown his weight behind other controversial political figures, including former English Defense League leader Tommy Robinson, aka Steven Yaxley-Lennon. He has also attacked the UK’s Labour government and its leader Sir Keir Starmer.
Speaking at a campaign event in Berlin on Tuesday, Scholz said that although he had already been subjected to attacks by the SpaceX boss, Musk’s support for such organizations was becoming more blatant and concerning to him.
“What is new is that he is intervening in favor of right-wing politicians all over Europe,” he said, per Reuters. “And this is really disgusting and it is not good for the democratic development in all the European Union.
On Saturday, Musk made a surprise appearance at the AfD’s campaign event via video link, telling attendees that there was “too much focus on past guilt,” and there was a need to “move beyond that.”
Addressing the far-right crowd alongside party leader Alice Weidel on Saturday, the American billionaire said that “children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents, let alone their great grandparents.”
“I am absolutely critical about what Elon Musk said about the history of Germany,” Scholz said, referring to the remarks. He added that his country would continue to bear responsibility for the past.
“This killing of so many Jews and other people in Europe done by Germans in the past, this is a historic responsibility,” Scholz said.
Monday was the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, with the remaining survivors of Nazi Germany’s atrocities joined by world leaders and royalty for commemorations and observances taking place in southern Poland.
One week earlier, on the day of Trump’s inauguration, Musk caused an uproar after he made a gesture while giving remarks onstage that many compared to a Nazi salute. He has strongly denied such claims.
