The German government has accused American billionaire Elon Musk of attempting to influence February’s elections through articles supporting the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Musk, who is expected to serve in Donald Trump’s new administration as an external advisor, endorsed the AfD as “Germany’s last hope” in an article he wrote for the newspaper Welt am Sonntag. In response to Musk’s article, the commentary section editor of the publication resigned in protest.
“It is indeed the case that Elon Musk is trying to influence the federal elections with posts on X and his writings,” said a spokesperson for the German government.
Musk is free to express his opinions, the spokesperson noted, adding:
“After all, freedom of speech also covers the most absurd nonsense.”
Musk, the world’s richest man, defended his involvement in German politics by citing his “significant investments” in the country and praised the AfD’s approach to taxation and market deregulation.
Germans are preparing to vote in parliamentary elections on February 23 following the collapse of the coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
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Musk also called for Scholz’s resignation after a car plowed into a crowd at a Christmas market on December 20, killing five people.
AfD is currently polling in second place, behind the main opposition conservatives, and could potentially disrupt a center-right or center-left majority in the elections. Major German parties have pledged not to cooperate with AfD at the national level.
A government spokesperson stated that Musk’s endorsement of AfD is “a recommendation to vote for a party under surveillance by domestic intelligence agencies due to suspicions of extremism.”
German politicians condemned Musk for his support of AfD. Lars Klingbeil, co-chair of Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), compared Musk to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Both aim to influence our elections and specifically support the enemies of democracy within the AfD. They want Germany to be weakened and plunged into chaos,” Klingbeil said.
Friedrich Merz, leader of the opposition Christian Democrats and the current favorite to succeed Scholz as chancellor, called Musk’s remarks “intrusive and presumptuous.”
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Source: Glas Amerike, Photo: Reuters/Rachel Wisniewski