His comments angered senior German government officials, who on Monday said the timing was just weeks before Germany’s snap parliamentary elections – and, in their view, are obviously intended to influence the German public, which the message on whether or not Musk achieves this goal. aim.
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(The co-leader of Germany’s far-right AfD party, Alice Weidel, attends an AfD election crusade at the cathedral in Magdeburg, Germany, Monday, Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi))
“It is true that Elon Musk will influence the federal elections,” German government spokesperson Christiane Hoffmann said at a press conference on Monday.
Hoffmann said that Musk is not too explicit in expressing his opinion, adding: “After all, freedom of opinion also covers the greatest absurdities. “
Musk faced heavy criticism for his affiliation with the Alternative for Germany political party just weeks before early parliamentary elections were held in February.
Musk this fall denounced German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as a “fool. ”
Musk also praised the AfD last week on his social media platform, X, writing: “Only the AfD can save Germany.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives on Capitol Hill. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty)
Musk reiterated the same in an opinion piece published in the center-right German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
“The description of the AfD as far-right is obviously false, given that Alice Weidel, the party leader, has a same-sex spouse from Sri Lanka! Does this remind you of Hitler? Please!” Musk said of AfD co-chair Alice Weidel.
He added that in his view, the AfD “can lead the country into a future where economic prosperity, cultural integrity and technological innovation are not just wishes, but reality.”
The comments prompted complaints from current and former U. S. lawmakers, as well as Berlin leaders, who highlighted the party’s reputation as a neo-Nazi group.
Hoffman, the German government spokesperson, said Monday that Musk’s endorsement of the AfD was “a recommendation to vote for a party that is being monitored [by domestic intelligence] on suspicion of being right-wing extremist,” and “which has already been recognized as partly right-wing extremist.”
German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), criticized Musk’s intervention as “undignified and highly problematic. “
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Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk Donald Trump speaks at a town hall with House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Washington, D. C. (Allison Robbert/AFP/via Getty Images)
All major German political parties have ruled out competing with the AfD, and its youth wing was designated a “confirmed extremist” organization through internal German intelligence earlier this year.
The AfD, for its part, rejected this characterization.
The reaction from American and German officials deterred Musk, who used his op-ed to argue that the German economy is crippled by overregulation and bureaucracy, and described Alternative for Germany (AfD) as “the last spark of hope for Germany. ” country. “
“The traditional parties have failed in Germany,” Musk wrote in the op-ed of Germany’s SPD and other mainstream parties. “Their policies have led to economic stagnation, social unrest, and the erosion of national identity.”
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The decision to publish Musks’ opinion piece in a center-right newspaper was harshly criticized and led Welt am Sonntag’s opinion editor, Eva Marie Kogel, to announce her resignation.
Breanne Deppisch is a political reporter for Fox News Digital covering the 2024 election and national news.
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