AfD leaders support Trump and feel they now have “potential.”
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is leading the polls and could come in second place in the election later this month. Tino Hrupalla, a co-leader of the AfD who attended the Capital One rally in Washington on Trump's inauguration day, spoke highly of the US president, CNN field producer Sebastian Shukla reports.
“You could feel the optimism and hope in the president. The American people felt liberated. He [Trump] fulfilled his campaign promises. This is what I call politics for the people,” — Hrupalla said.
In addition, Matthias Kwent, a researcher and author of books on extremism, particularly the AfD and the far-right in Germany, says they are using Musk's attention to their advantage. He adds that the party has seized the opportunity to normalize its position, using the Trump administration as a yardstick.
“Seeing that the largest country in the world has a far-right leadership tells them: 'OK, we can achieve this too,'” — Quent said in an interview with CNN.
Quent believes that “the AfD has never had such open support from an entire government or someone close to the government.”
“They had support from very wealthy people in Europe and Germany, but it was hidden and not public. “He [Musk] helps them look like a normal political party, which is the narrative of all far-right populist movements in the world,” Quent said.
However, Quent questions the extent to which Musk's interest in the party translates into electoral support. He believes the AfD's rise can be more accurately explained by the government's weakness and the way public debate is focused on the AfD's thorny issues, such as immigration.