Germany accuses Elon Musk of trying to influence its elections by supporting a far-right party
The German government accused American billionaire Elon Musk on Monday of trying to influence its February election with articles supporting the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, although it suggested they were “nonsense”.
Musk, who is set to serve in Donald Trump’s new administration as a foreign adviser, endorsed the AfD as Germany’s last hope in a guest op-ed for the Welt am Sonntag newspaper that prompted the commentary editor to resign in protest.
“It is indeed the case that Elon Musk is trying to influence the federal election” with X posts and opinions, a German government spokesman said.
Musk is free to express his opinion, the spokesman said, adding: “After all, freedom of speech covers even the most stupid things.”
The German government is accusing Elon Musk of trying to influence their upcoming elections after he expressed support for the far-right AfD party in an op-ed. Musk’s comment was published in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper over the weekend, and was met with criticism from politicians and the resignation of the paper’s opinion editor.
Musk, the world’s richest person, defended his right to influence German politics because of his “significant investments” and praised the AfD’s approach to regulation, taxes and market deregulation.
His intervention came as Germans prepare to vote in parliamentary elections on February 23, following the fall of the coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Musk also called for Scholz’s resignation after a car plowed into a crowd at a Christmas market on December 20, killing five people.
The main parties have promised not to cooperate with the AfD
The AfD is currently second in the polls behind the main opposition conservatives and could thwart a center-right or center-left majority in the election. Germany’s main parties have vowed not to cooperate with the AfD at the national level.
A government spokesman said Musk’s support for the AfD was “a recommendation to vote for a party that is followed [by domestic intelligence] under suspicion of being a right-wing extremist and who is already recognized as partially right-wing extremist.”
German politicians have criticized Musk for his support for the AfD, and one of the leaders of Scholz’s Social Democrats compared him to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“They both want to influence our elections and especially support the AfD’s enemies of democracy. They want Germany to be weakened and plunged into chaos,” Lars Klingbeil told the Funke news group on Monday.
Friedrich Merz, leader of the opposition Christian Democrats and the current favorite to succeed Scholz as chancellor, told Funke that Musk’s comments were “intrusive and pretentious.”
