Elon Musk, undeterred by days of German political hyperventilation, continues to promote fascism and undermine democracy by tweeting things and scheduling interviews with people

For days, the German establishment have been in an absolute uproar over Elon Musk’s profoundly antidemocratic election interference. You cannot turn on the television or open any newspaper without enduring all manner of wailing about the grave danger Musk poses to German democracy.

The naive and the simpleminded will say that all of this is crazy and that the Federal Republic has become an open-air insane asylum – a strange playground of political hysterics the likes of which the Western world has never seen before. That is because they don’t understand what’s at stake here. Musk did not just say the odd nice thing about Alternative für Deutschland, oh no. He also said various German politicians were fools and traitors, he called for resignations and he published an untoward newspaper editorial. It is amazing the German democracy has not yet collapsed in the face of this unrelenting campaign, and still the absolute madman shows no signs of stopping.

Elon Musk’s frontal assault on the German constitution began on 7 November, when he tweeted four antidemocratic words – “Olaf ist ein Narr” (“Olaf [Scholz] is a fool”) – in response to news that the German government had collapsed. Three days later, he tweeted the same thing about Green Economics Minister and chancellor candidate Robert Habeck, after Habeck gave a speech calling for widespread internet censorship.

Thereafter, all was quiet for a time. German democrats allowed themselves to hope these were but isolated indiscretions and that Musk would allow them to get back to their arcane business promoting feminism abroad, changing the weather and eliminating “the extreme right.” Lamentably, the peace turned out to be a false one. Musk renewed his campaign against democracy with a vengeance on 20 December, tweeting in the wake of the Magdeburg Christmas market attack that “Scholz should resign immediately” and that he is an “incompetent fool.” That very same day, Musk tweeted for the first time that “Only the AfD can save Germany,” a sentiment he repeated also on 21 December and on 22 December, delighted at the nationwide freakout his casual remarks had incited.

In the course of this freakout, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier hinted darkly that “outside influence” constitutes “a danger for democracy”:

Outside influence is a danger for democracy – whether it is covert, as was recently apparent in the elections in Romania, or open and blatant, as is currently being practised with particular intensity on the platform X. I strongly oppose all external attempts at influence. The decision on the election is made solely by the eligible citizens in Germany.

The indefatigable Naomi Seibt, who appears to be Musk’s primary informant about German politics, brought these remarks to the evil fascist billionaire’s attention, and he promptly responded that “Steinmeier is an anti-democratic tyrant.” Musk then delivered his coup-de-grace the next day, with an editorial in Welt am Sonntag – the most devastating piece of political prose that Germany has witnessed since Hitler penned Mein Kampf.

By my count, Musk may have directed as many as 700 words against the noble if surprisingly rickety edifice of German democracy – an assault few political systems could withstand. The self-appointed guardians of our liberal order accordingly declared a five-alarm fire, and they have betaken themselves to their keyboards to defend what remains of our free and eminently democratic political system, where anybody can say anything he likes and vote for any party he wishes, so long as what he likes and those for whom he votes have nothing to do with major political parties supported by millions of Germans like Alternative für Deutschland.

Among the first to the barricades was the “independent journalist” Teresa Stiens, who looks in no way disturbing, unbalanced or terrifying:

Stiens denounced Musk’s opinion in Handelsblatt as “anti-constitutional agitation,” and lamented that Welt am Sonntag editors, while they may be “congratulating themselves for ‘freedom of expression’ … in reality …. are allowing themselves to be used for anti-constitutional purposes.” Indeed, one can imagine few things as anti-constitutional as a newspaper editorial.

That Welt would only agree to publish Musk’s statement alongside Jan Philipp Burgard’s extensive “rebuttal” (I use the term loosely) if anything made the whole anti-constitutional aspect worse:

[I]t suggests that there is a “pro” and a “con” when it comes to the AfD. This disregards the fact that the party pursues anti-constitutional goals with racism, agitation, exclusion and “remigration” fantasies. It is therefore directed against the essence of our democracy.

Unlike in the USA, freedom of expression in Germany, with respect to our defensive democracy, has its limits. According to Article 18 of the German Basic Law, freedom of expression can be forfeited if its aim is to fight the free and democratic basic order … With its xenophobic slogans, the entire party moreover violates Article 1 of the Basic Law, according to which “Human dignity is inviolable.”

A recurring pattern in German political discourse, is that journalists very often set the tone for establishment politicians, who clamor to expand and reinforce their theses a few hours or days later.

By 1 January, chief of the Bundestag Social Democrat faction Rolf Mützenich rose to the challenge, with bold remarks to Der Spiegel that Musk’s statements might even constitute a diplomatic incident of some sort, if not an outright act of war:

US billionaire Elon Musk’s recent outbursts towards German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier could seriously strain German-American relations. Rolf Mützenich, …accused Musk of crossing “a line between friendly states.”

Steinmeier represents Germany abroad. “The verbal attacks on the German president are therefore aimed at all German citizens,” Mützenich said …

Mützenich called on the German government to clarify, following Trump’s inauguration, “whether the repeated disrespect, defamation and interference in our election campaign were also expressed on behalf of the new US government.” He said that “clarity” was needed on this point, adding that “international challenges can only be tackled in an unencumbered relationship between us and the US.”

The next day, Green politician Claudia Roth, who is presently serving as Federal Commissioner for Culture and Media, agreed that attacks on President Steinmeier are out of bounds because he “represents our country.” She furthermore outlined a curious theory of expressive freedom, arguing that “it is not good for democracy” and that “it is extremely dangerous for democratic societies” when “great economic power and the power of opinion are combined.” According to Roth, it is primarily journalists who should be allowed to express themselves, and not rich people, I guess because journalists unlike Musk don’t have very much money, or something.

Roth continued to demand legislative interventions to keep everybody but our sacrosanct journalist class from speaking freely:

… [W]e need to protect and strengthen reputable, fact-oriented quality journalism that ensures appropriate reporting on events as well as their background and context. Secondly, we need better regulation … We need strong European media laws that ensure the functioning of a democratic public sphere. Especially because the so-called platforms are not only platforms for third-party opinions, but also massively disseminate their own opinions.

Because democracy, it is okay for journalists to express opinions, but not for people or “platforms” to express them. Only very few acts of expression, it turns out, are compatible with democracy.

Mützenich, Roth – these people offered impassioned pleas, it is true, but soon His Highness the Green chancellor candidate Robert Habeck would enter the fray, making their words superfluous. In a Spiegel interview published yesterday beneath this totally unironic cover photo …

… Habeck defended democracy from Musk’s incursions with incredible eloquence and at great length. He said that “we should not make the mistake of dismissing” Musk’s support for “a party with far-right elements,” and voiced deep concern about the United States, which he believes “is developing into a neo-feudal system, a … moneyed aristocracy in which billionaires … use their influence to pursue business interests.” He vowed that he “will not stand idly by and watch how authoritarian attitudes are made socially acceptable.”

SPIEGEL: Is Musk a danger to Germany?

Habeck: He will do anything to push through his interests. The combination of immense wealth, control over information and networks, the use of artificial intelligence and the will to ignore rules is a frontal attack on our democracy. Just because he comes across as relaxed and builds electric cars, we should not be deceived. There is only one answer: Hands our democracy, Mr Musk! We cannot afford to be careless or naive. Germany has long been in the sights of foreign actors – especially now during the election campaign. They see Germany as an easy target. Unfortunately, disinformation campaigns have a relatively easy time of it here.

“Hands off our democracy, Mr Musk,” has now become the rallying cry of the entire German press. Münchner Merkur: “Habeck warns Elon Musk: ‘Hands off our democracy.’” Frankfurter Rundschau: “‘Hands off our democracy’: Habeck strikes back after attacks against Musk.” Rheinische Post: “‘Hands Off Our Democracy, Mr Musk!” Berliner Morgenpost: “Musk promotes AfD – Habeck warns: ‘Hands off!’”

The Green Party have even launched an entire online campaign called “Hands Off Our Democracy, Mr Musk,” where we are all invited to contribute our signatures by way of petitioning the universe to put an end to the scourge of this wealthy American randomly tweeting his opinions about things.

Alas, no sooner have you finished defending democracy than its enemies return to attack it again. Musk responded to the Spiegel interview by calling Habeck “a traitor to the German people” – words of such violence that they will surely require another feature Spiegel interview to blot out completely. Even worse, an hour later, Musk and AfD co-chair Alice Weidel announced their plans to hold a conversation on X on 9 January, a day before the AfD party congress in Riesa.

Who knows what it will take to undo the democratic damage of that event. Former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, perhaps the world’s foremost opponent of Elon Musk talking to people on the internet, is very concerned about it: