German politicians decry Elon Musk’s AfD backing as ‘intrusive’ influence on election Reuters
BERLIN (Reuters) – U.S. billionaire Elon Musk drew criticism from German government and opposition politicians on Sunday for an opinion piece he wrote supporting the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which they see as an “intrusive” outside influence.
The AfD’s support from Musk, who is set to serve the administration of US President-elect Donald Trump as a foreign adviser, comes as Germans are set to vote on February 23 after the coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz fell.
The commentary, published in German in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper, a flagship of the Axel Springer media group, expanded on Musk’s post on social media platform X last week in which he wrote “only the AfD can save Germany” and praised the party’s approach to regulation, taxes and market deregulation .
In response to the publication of his comment, the editor of the newspaper’s opinion section told X that she had resigned.
Friedrich Merz, leader of the opposition Christian Democrats and current favorite to succeed Scholz as chancellor, said in an interview with the Funke Media Group: “I cannot think of a comparable case, in the history of Western democracies, of interference in the election campaign of a friendly country.”
Merz described the comment as “intrusive and pretentious.”
Saskia Esken, co-leader of Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), has promised fierce resistance to attempts by state actors, as well as the rich and powerful, to influence elections in Germany.
“In Elon Musk’s world, democracy and workers’ rights are obstacles to higher profits,” Esken told Reuters. “We say quite clearly: our democracy is defensible and cannot be bought.”
Welt’s appointed editor-in-chief defended the decision to publish the comments, saying that democracy and journalism thrive on freedom of opinion, including polarizing views.
The AfD is second in the polls and could thwart a center-right or center-left majority. Germany’s mainstream, more centrist parties have vowed to avoid any support for the AfD at the national level.
