Germany’s government accused US billionaire Elon Musk on Monday of interfering in its upcoming February election after he threw his support behind the far-right party, Alternative for Germany (AfD) in X posts and an opinion piece published by the newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
German leaders accused Musk, who claimed the AfD is the party that can “save” Germany, of seeking to “influence the federal election” as the country heads toward snap 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 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 say Scholz fully expected to lose the vote but wanted to trigger earlier elections, which he sees as his party’s last chance to cling to any power. Before Monday’s vote, Scholz said an election would be an opportunity to set the country on a new course.
Following the no-confidence motion, the German parliament was dissolved on Friday through SPD chairman Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and early elections were called for February 23, 2025, seven months before the initially scheduled date for parliamentary elections.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is considered to be a far-right populist party in Germany. It was founded in 2013 and was holding 76 seats out of the 733 seats in the German parliament, or Bundestag before dissolution.
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, the AfD won a key election for all eight Landtag 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. .
In early December, the AfD named 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 win the votes of more than one part of parliament.
For the next elections, the latest polls place the AfD in second position, with 19% of the electorate on December 28, according to Politico. In first position, with 30%, 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 mainstream parties have refused to work with AfD in government, but it is nevertheless projected to form the largest opposition in parliament following the upcoming elections.
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 aide to US President-elect Donald Trump, expanded on his support for the AfD in an opinion piece for Welt am Sonntag, a German Sunday newspaper. The paper is published by the Axel Springer media group, which also owns US-based 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 verge of economic and cultural collapse” and that “the 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 jailed for 18 months in October 2024 after he made false accusations against a Syrian refugee schoolboy.
Musk, who was born in South Africa but is also a naturalized US citizen, is also known for his involvement in US 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 spokeswoman 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 editor of Welt am Sonntag, announced her resignation from X.
“I always enjoyed heading the opinion section,” Kogel wrote in an X post on December 28. “Today an article by Elon Musk appeared in Welt am Sonntag. I handed in my resignation yesterday after it went to print.”