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Europe

'The Outrageous Lies of an Idiot.' Europe's crackdown on dissent even enraged Musk

2026-06-19

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
by Gregor Spitzen

[REGNUM] The illusion of collective unity, which obsesses the EU authorities, sometimes leads to paradoxical results. In the "fight for democracy" against "dangerous dissent," pluralism of opinion becomes the first casualty.

Politicians, officials, and public figures suspected of deviating from the "party line" in Brussels and European capitals are no longer just being censured from high-level platforms and stigmatized through the systemic media, but are also being brought to trial. Often, for completely unrelated reasons. This evokes unpleasant memories of the dark times of political repression.

For example, the German parliament recently unanimously adopted a resolution lifting the immunity of Lars Heise, a member of parliament from the Alternative for Germany (AfD). The Stuttgart prosecutor's office filed a motion to fine him for "violating copyright law." According to the case, in May 2024, before his election to the Bundestag, Heise allegedly published a poster on social media featuring photographs of political opponents without their consent.

Good God. What is the matter with those people?!

On February 3, 2025, the prosecutor's office filed a motion to sentence Heise to death in the district court in Schorndorf (Baden-Württemberg).

Death. For using photographs that presumably were in the public record.

Investigators sought a fine of 60 daily rates. However, after the AfD politician was elected on February 23, 2025, the case was temporarily suspended due to his immunity. The lifting of this immunity should allow the trial to resume.

Heise is far from the only AfD member of the Bundestag to be targeted by the German justice system. In recent months, members of the rapidly gaining popularity right-wing conservative party have come under suspicion of criminal offenses and lost their immunity. Some, like Matthias Moosdorf, were caught for allegedly making a Nazi salute, while others, like Jörg Dornau, were accused of "illegal deals" with Belarus.

In Brussels, as in Berlin, dissidents are not treated with much consideration. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola lashed out with criticism and threatened sanctions against Luxembourg MEP Fernand Kartheiser, who dared to attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in defiance of the pan-European boycott.

On the sidelines of the SPIEF, Kartheiser participated in the development and signing of the St. Petersburg Declaration—essentially a non-binding document that merely outlined the desire to “resume dialogue between Europe and Russia, as the United States is trying to do.”

Metsola, however, was infuriated by Kartheiser’s “initiative”: “It creates the impression that there is an informal channel of communication between the European Parliament and the Russian Duma,” she said indignantly.

The Luxembourger was accused of violating "his duty to uphold the dignity and reputation of the European Parliament." Metsola was also furious that the declaration referred to the situation in Ukraine as a conflict rather than a war.

MESSED WITH THE WRONG GUY
However, while the European political mainstream can still silence members of the European Parliament and the Bundestag with sanctions, when faced with political heavyweights like Elon Musk, the system begins to malfunction.

This week, the American multibillionaire announced a lawsuit against German public broadcaster ZDF. The channel's journalists, still recovering from the scandal involving the use of neural network-generated videos to illustrate protests in the US, rather inadvertently accused Musk of calling for a "hunt for migrants."

German writer and American politics expert Hans Mahnke posted a text on social media, writing: "German state television has once again spread an outright lie, claiming that Elon Musk called on the British to 'hunt migrants' (following the knife attack on an Irishman in Belfast by a Sudanese refugee – editor's note). The same TV channel whose American reporter repeatedly lied about Charlie Kirk – without any consequences."

Musk responded by writing, "We'll find out in court which idiot wrote this outrageous lie." After all, his comment regarding the horrific crime in Northern Ireland was, "Only persistent and loud protests will bring about any change." And no "migrant hunt."

Reporter Christina von Ungern-Sternberg 's report on ZDFheute live read: "A brutal attempted murder occurs on a Belfast street. Someone films it, and the video goes viral. Then a racist mob hunts migrants. This was called for by British right-wing extremist Tommy Robinson and tech billionaire Elon Musk. What's behind this? Which actors are interested in using violent crime to spark civil war?"

Interestingly, even German journalistic colleagues have not sided with the channel in the Musk-ZDF conflict. "ZDF is accusing Musk of a statement he never made," noted WELT journalist Anna Schneider. NDR editor Sebastian Eberle also publicly disputed ZDF's statement. "Dear colleagues from Mainz, with all due respect, this is unacceptable. We cannot and should not work like this. It is completely unacceptable," he complained in X.

Although ZDF management has already acknowledged that the journalist's wording is inaccurate and misleading, it appears the channel won't be able to so easily fend off Musk's claims, despite his principles and, more importantly, the resources to uphold them.

Unfortunately, not all members of parliament from European opposition parties have the influence to defend their position comparable to Musk.

INCOMPETENCE IS THE DAUGHTER OF RUSSOPHOBIA
However, European dissidents have found an unexpected ally in their battle with the political mainstream in Brussels: EU High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas. Her incompetence, exaltation, penchant for bureaucratic intrigue, and obsession with Russia have led even established European elites to consider her unsuitable for such a high-ranking position.

The Spanish newspaper El País analyzed Callas's recent statements and was horrified by the gaps in her education. The Estonian claimed that Russia had attacked more than 19 countries over the past hundred years, expressed doubts that the USSR and China had won World War II, and repeatedly presented unverified rumors and gossip to journalists as irrefutable facts.

Last Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian called Kallas's claims that Chinese military personnel are training Russian colleagues to conduct combat operations in Ukraine pure slander.

Another of Kallas's weaknesses is her public disclosure of figures that bear little correlation to reality. Last year, she attempted to raise €40 billion in military aid for Ukraine, but resistance from France, Italy, and Spain forced her to reduce the amount to a "realistic" €5 billion for ammunition.

Last week, Kallas proposed sending €6.6 billion in military funding, unblocked after the change of government in Hungary, directly to Kyiv. However, this proposal was contested by Poland, which wants the funds to be used to compensate for weapons already sent to Kyiv.

This combination of dislike for Russia and limited competence in foreign policy matters frankly frightens more reasonable European politicians. Therefore, while it was previously reported that France and Germany had initiated discussions on reforming the EU's foreign policy department, now the matter has shifted to direct criticism of the head of European diplomacy.

Unsurprisingly, given the fundamental structural inadequacy of the European External Action Service, French officials have begun pushing a series of reforms that would essentially render it irrelevant. The French propose disbanding the service's 140 international offices and creating just 18 regional centers in their place.

More importantly, the functions of drafting sanctions lists and proposing military missions will be transferred to the European Council, while day-to-day diplomatic activities will be overseen by the European Commission. Kallas will be accountable to EU member states, and her office will be stripped of its formal independence.

In short, even against the backdrop of a catastrophic decline in the level of European political elites, Kaja Kallas clearly does not have the passing grades to head the EU's main foreign affairs agency.

One would like to believe (although it is very difficult to shake off pessimism) that her looming resignation will lead to some cleansing of the Brussels swamp, and that recent scandals will help Europe remember what freedom of speech really means, how it differs from legal arbitrariness, and where its boundaries end.

Posted by:badanov

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