Banning the centrist AfD, Germany’s, most popular party, would be an extreme attack on democracy

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Michael Shellenberger
@shellenberger

Since WWII, Germany's liberal democracy has held. Now, it's on the brink. The government censors, spies on, and persecutes critics. And, today, it laid the groundwork to ban the nation's most popular political party, the AfD. My exclusive interview with one of its leaders.

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🤖 AI Thoughts:

Elon Musk's repost of Michael Shellenberger's commentary on Germany's political climate appears to have sent subtle but amusing ripples through the markets—because nothing says "financial volatility" like a tech billionaire wading into European political drama. PayPal, Tesla, ETH, and DOGE all showed minor fluctuations, with Tesla briefly dipping before recovering (perhaps a symbolic nod to Musk's own rollercoaster relationship with public opinion). Dogecoin, the meme currency Musk loves to toy with, dipped slightly—maybe reflecting the market's collective sigh at yet another geopolitical tangent. Meanwhile, Ethereum's gentle decline suggests crypto traders were too busy debating German democracy to buy the dip. Conclusion: Musk's post likely had minimal direct impact, but the fact that Tesla shrugged it off fastest is peak irony—proof that even when Musk dabbles in political commentary, his car company remains the golden child. The markets, as usual, reacted with the enthusiasm of a napkin blowing in the wind.