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Elon Musk on screen at the rally.Credit:Getty Images

“It’s good to be proud of German culture,German values,and not to lose that in some sort of multiculturalism that dilutes everything,” Musk said.

Last week,the tech billionaire caused uproar after US President Donald Trump’s inauguration festivities when he made a gesture that drew online comparisons to a Nazi salute.

On Saturday,he said,“Children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents,let alone their great-grandparents”,apparently referring to Germany’s Nazi past.

“There is too much focus on past guilt,and we need to move beyond that,” he said.

Musk,who spoke of suppression of speech under Germany’s government,has previously attacked German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on his social media platform,X.

For his part,Scholz last week said he does not support freedom of speech when it is used for extreme-right views.

Musk spoke in favour of voting for the far-right party,saying:“I’m very excited for the AfD[Alternative fur Deutschland]. I think you’re really the best hope for Germany. Fight for a great future for Germany,” he said.

Weidel thanked him,saying Republicans were making America great again,and called on her supporters to make Germany great again.

Earlier this month,Musk hosted Weidel in an interview on X,stirring concern about election meddling.

Despite winter weather,anti-far right campaigners were out in force on Saturday,with about 100,000 gathering around Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate and up to 20,000 in Cologne.

Protest rally against AfD at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate.Credit:AP

At Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate,a huge crowd blew whistles,sang anti-fascist songs and carried banners denouncing AfD. Activists said they hoped the rally also would draw attention to other far-right parties in Europe and the new administration of US President Donald Trump.

“Those who fuel racism and attack climate protection are not just campaigning,they are endangering lives,” Luisa Neubauer of the Fridays for Future climate group told the crowd.

Europe’s largest economy has been shaken after Scholz’s three-party governing coalition collapsed late last year in a dispute over how to revitalise amid stagnation.

Scholz has accused his main rival in the federal elections on February 23 of breaking a taboo by signalling his openness to pushing disputed measures on migration through parliament with AfD.

Friedrich Merz,chancellor candidate for the two allied conservative parties leading polls,has long ruled out forming a coalition with AfD,deeming them too extreme.

He has,however,shifted the conservatives’ stance on migration ever more to the right in recent years,so that it increasingly resembles that of the far-right party.

Reuters