German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has expressed fears over Elon Musk’s selection for the far-right election for Germany (AfD), weeks ahead of the country’s SNAP elections next month.
Scholz, in an interview with Stern magazine published on Saturday, said while he was not fazed by the US tech billionaire’s attacks on him and other German politicians, Musk’s endorsement of the far-right party was much more worrying.
“Much more worrying than such insults is the fact that Musk supports a far-right party like the AfD, which advocates a rapprochement with Putin’s Russia and seeks to weaken transatlantic relations,” the chancellor told the German magazine.
Musk endorsed the AfD in a lengthy opinion piece published recently in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
The German National Intelligence Agency monitors the AFD’s National Party as a so-called wing extremist organization. Certain branches in the AFD state point have already earned this designation.
The party has made massive gains in East Germany in recent regional votes and has nearly doubled its popularity measured in opinion polls to around 20%, ahead of the Feb. 23 snap election.
Musk is scheduled to attend a convention with the AFD leader, Alice Weidel, in X Spaces on January 9.
Musk, a top adviser to US President-elect Donald Trump, has been commenting on German politics on his social media platform X for days now.
Scholz “Crazy” and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier an “anti-democratic tyrant”.
Scholz said insults from rich media tycoons were par for the course.
“As Social Democrats, we have been accustomed since the last century to wealthy media entrepreneurs who do not appreciate social democratic politics — and are not shy about expressing their opinions,” Scholz told Stern, in reference to his center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD).
Although their voices are more successful as the media evolves, the scenario is not new, said the chancellor. “You have to remain great,” he said while several German politicians expressed inflammation for terrible experience.
Musk, in 2022, made a private request to Scholz to make a phone call related to the federal government’s plans to subsidize electric charge stations throughout the country. Tesla, owned by Musk, operates its own cargo station in Germany.
“It is no secret that Tesla opposed government investment in electric charging stations in Germany,” the chancellor said, suggesting that Musk’s comments were due to dissatisfaction with the companies.
German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck was clearer with Musk.
“Handins Our Democracy, Mr. Musk!” Habeck told German News Mag der Spiegel when asked if Musk was a risk to Germany. He criticized Musk’s out of AFD’s extreme right.
Habeck said the billionaire, who is expected to have a prominent role in the upcoming US government, is doing whatever he can to push his own interests.
“The mix of immense wealth, data and networks, the use of synthetic intelligence and the willingness to forget about regulations is a frontal attack on our democracy,” Habeck said.
Extra described Musk’s recent article backing the AFD as “horrible” and warned that his attempts to influence German politics are not underestimated.
“The richest guy in the world, owner of one of the most difficult communication platforms, shamelessly supports a party that is partly right-wing extremist. We will have to not make the mistake of rejecting this,” he said.
MK/WD (DPA)