The German government on Monday accused American billionaire Elon Musk of interfering in the upcoming February elections after he supported the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in X-rated articles and an opinion piece published in the Welt am newspaper. Sonntag.
German leaders accused Musk, who has claimed that the AfD is the party that can “save” Germany, of seeking to “influence federal elections” as the country heads toward early elections amid political turmoil next month.
So what and what does it all mean?
Since 2013, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) has governed Germany, which is Europe’s largest economy, leading different coalition governments.
However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the SPD approved the vote of confidence in parliament on Dec. 16.
The vote, organized through Scholz himself in an attempt to spark snap elections, came after the collapse of Germany’s ruling coalition government led by Scholz and the SPD. The government was thrown into turmoil when Scholz fired Finance Minister Christian Lindner in November after months of disagreements over Germany’s budget.
Analysts say Scholz expected to lose the vote, but tried to call early elections, which he saw as his party’s last chance to cling to power. Before Monday’s vote, Scholz said an election would be an opportunity to put the country on a new path.
Following the motion of no confidence, the German Parliament was dissolved on Friday through the president of the SPD, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and early elections were called for February 23, 2025, seven months earlier than initially planned.
Alternative for Germany (AfD) is considered a far-right populist party in Germany. It was founded in 2013 and held 76 of the 733 seats in the German parliament, or Bundestag, before dissolving.
The AfD is a eurosceptic party and criticizes Germany’s integration into the European Union.
AfD is also openly critical of Islam and opposes mass immigration. The party opposed former German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s welcoming stance towards immigrants arriving from the Middle East and Africa. In 2015, under Merkel’s leadership, more than 1 million refugees arrived in Germany.
In September this year, AfD won a key election for the eight Landtag seats of the eastern state of Thuringia with 32.8 percent of the vote, marking the first state election win for a far-right party since World War II.
In early December, the AfD nominated party leader Alice Weidel as its candidate for chancellor. This appointment is largely symbolic, as the party is unlikely to win a majority. Once elected, the Bundestag votes for the chancellor. To be chancellor, a candidate must get the votes of more than one part of parliament.
For the next elections, the latest polls place the AfD in second position, with 19 voters in favor as of December 28, according to Politico. In first position, with 30Array, is the conservative coalition formed by the center-right parties, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU).
The former leading group, the SPD, is in third place, with an expectation of 17 percent.
The main parties have refused to work with the AfD in government, but it is expected to form the largest opposition in parliament after the next election.
On December 20, Musk posted on X, the social media platform he owns: “Only the AfD can save Germany.”
Musk, who has become a close associate of U. S. President-elect Donald Trump, explained his opinion to the AfD in an op-ed for Welt am Sonntag, a German Sunday newspaper. The newspaper is published through the Axel Springer media group, which also owns the online American political page Politico.
Musk’s article was published online on Sunday. Translated, it reads: “The portrayal of the AfD as right-wing extremist is clearly false, considering that Alice Weidel, the party’s leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!”
He wrote that Germany is “on the verge of economic and cultural collapse” and that “the AfD can save Germany from becoming a shadow of what it was before. “
Musk wrote that he had “significant investments” in Germany, which allowed him to comment on the country.
Declaring that the main German parties have failed in Germany, Musk wrote, “The AfD, while portrayed as far-right, represents a political realism that resonates with many Germans who feel that their considerations are being ignored by the establishment. “
Recently, Musk has unabashedly supported other far-right figures, including Nigel Farage of Britain’s Reform Party and right-wing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. On Thursday, Musk posted on X a crusade in favor of British far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
Robinson was sentenced to 18 months in prison in October 2024 after making false accusations against a Syrian refugee schoolboy.
Musk, who was born in South Africa but is also a naturalized U. S. citizen, is also known for his involvement in U. S. politics and played a vital role in Trump’s presidential campaign. Last month, Trump refuted claims that he had “ceded the presidency” to Musk. .
“It is true that Elon Musk will influence the federal elections,” German government spokesperson Christiane Hoffmann said at a regular press conference on Monday.
“After all, freedom of opinion also covers the greatest nonsense.”
Friedrich Merz, leader of the opposition Christian Democrats and the current favourite to be elected chancellor in the upcoming elections, described Musk’s words as “intrusive and pretentious” in an interview with German newspaper Funke Media Group.
“I don’t see a comparable case of interference, in the history of Western democracies, in the electoral crusade of a friendly country,” Merz said.
“In Elon Musk’s world, democracy and workers’ rights are obstacles to more profits,” SPD co-leader Saskia Esken told Reuters. “We say very clearly: our democracy is defensible and can be bought. “
Shortly after the publication of Musk’s article, Eva Marie Kogel, opinion of the Welt am Sonntag, announced her resignation at X.
“I always enjoyed running the opinion section,” Kogel wrote in a Dec. 28 X post. “Today I was shocked by an article written by Elon Musk in Welt am Sonntag. I resigned after its publication.