The German government on Monday accused U. S. billionaire Elon Musk of meddling in the February election after he supported the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in publications and in a column published in the newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
German leaders accused Musk, who claimed that AfD is the only party which can “save” Germany, of trying to “influence the federal election” as the country heads towards snap elections amid political turmoil next month.
So what and what does it all mean?
Since 2013, the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) has governed Germany, which is Europe’s largest economy, leading other coalition governments.
However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the SPD approved the vote of confidence in parliament on December 16.
The vote, organized through Scholz himself, with the aim of triggering early elections, came after the collapse of Germany’s ruling coalition 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 the German budget.
Analysts said Scholz expected to lose the vote, but was seeking to call early elections, which he sees as the last chance for his party 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 vote of no confidence, the German parliament was dissolved by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier of SPD on Friday, and snap elections were called for February 23, 2025, seven months before parliamentary elections were originally scheduled to take place.
Alternative for Germany (AfD) is considered a far-right populist party in Germany. It was founded in 2013 and had 76 of the 733 seats in the German parliament, or Bundestag, before dissolving.
AfD is a Eurosceptic party, which means it is critical of Germany’s integration into the European Union.
The AfD also shamelessly criticizes Islam and opposes mass immigration. He opposed former German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s welcoming attitude toward migrants arriving from the Middle East and Africa. In 2015, under Merkel’s leadership, more than a million refugees arrived in Germany.
In September this year, the AfD won a key election for all 8 seats in the eastern state of Thuringia with 32. 8% of the vote, marking the first electoral victory for a far-right since World War II.
The AfD nominated party leader Alice Weidel as its candidate for chancellor in early December. The nomination is largely symbolic since the party is unlikely to win a majority. Once the Bundestag is elected, it votes for the chancellor. To become chancellor, a candidate needs to receive votes from more than half of the parliament.
For the next elections, according to Politico, the latest polls place the AfD in second position, with the support of 19 voters as of December 28. 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 US President-elect Donald Trump, expanded on his views for 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 US online political site Politico.
Musk’s article published online on Sunday. Translated, it reads: “The description of the AfD as a right-wing extremist is obviously false, given that Alice Weidel, the party’s leader, has a same-sex spouse from Sri Lanka!Does this remind you of Hitler?
He wrote that Germany is on “the brink of economic and cultural collapse” and “AfD can save Germany from becoming a shadow of its former self”.
Musk wrote that he had “significant investments” in Germany, allowing him to comment on the country.
Saying that Germany’s traditional parties have failed in Germany, Musk wrote, “The AfD, even though it is described as far-right, represents a political realism that resonates with many Germans who feel their concerns are ignored by the establishment.”
Musk has openly backed other far-right figures recently, including Nigel Farage of the United Kingdom’s Reform party and Italy’s right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. On Thursday, Musk posted on X campaigning for the release of far-right UK activist Tommy Robinson.
Robinson was sentenced to 18 months in jail in October 2024 after making false accusations against a Syrian refugee schoolboy.
Musk, who was born in South Africa but also a naturalized U. S. citizen, is also known for his involvement in U. S. politics and played a role in Trump’s presidential campaign. Last month, Trump refuted claims that he had “handed the presidency” to Musk.
“It is true that Elon Musk will influence the federal elections,” German government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann said at a regular press conference on Monday.
“After all, freedom of opinion covers the greatest absurdities. “
Friedrich Merz, leader of the Christian Democrat opposition and current favorite to be elected chancellor in the next election, called Musk’s comments “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,” Saskia Esken, co-leader of the SPD, 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, reviews editor at 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 thought it was an article by Elon Musk in Welt am Sonntag. I resigned after its publication.