German AfD Leader’s Op-Ed Criticizes Growing Restrictions on Free Speech in Germany
Alice Weidel, the AfD’s top candidate, has published a regular column in the renowned Swiss World Week. In her latest piece, she highlights the increasing restrictions on free speech in Germany and sharply criticizes the double standards of politics, media, and EU institutions.
Weidel cites the controversial reaction to her interview with Elon Musk, which was widely criticized as “foreign interference.” In contrast, she notes that other forms of influence, such as the financing of German media by Bill Gates or George Soros, are largely ignored.
Weidel also criticizes the EU’s Digital Services Act, which she believes is a tool for suppressing unwelcome opinions, and describes the interference of former Digital Commissioner Thierry Breton in the German election campaign as scandalous.
Furthermore, she sees the left-extreme attacks on the AfD and the uneven media reporting as evidence of a worrying trend.
“The pinnacle of double standards is reached by the EU elite” Weidel writes. “Former Digital Commissioner Thierry Breton threatened repression in the prelude to the censorship law ‘Digital Services Act’ (DSA) and, as a Frenchman, interfered in the German election campaign. Not content with that, Breton threatens to annul the German federal election under the pretext of ‘foreign interference’ if the ‘wrong’ party wins, and confesses to a precedent: ‘We did it in Romania.'”
In conclusion, Weidel emphasizes that the defense of free speech is a central theme of the upcoming federal election. Her appeal: the defense of free speech and democratic values requires courage and perseverance, but is essential for a functioning democracy.