The German government announced on Monday that American billionaire Elon Musk expressed support for the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) in an X post and an op-ed published in Welt am Sonntag newspaper. In response, he accused the country of interfering in the upcoming February election.
German leaders have criticized Musk, who claims the AfD is the only party that can “save” Germany, as a “federal election candidate” as the country faces snap elections next month amid political turmoil. He accused them of trying to influence the government.
So what happened and what does it mean?
Why did Germany hold snap elections?
Since 2013, the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) has led various coalition governments to govern Germany, Europe’s largest economy.
However, Germany’s SPD Chancellor Olaf Scholz was rejected in a vote of confidence in parliament on December 16.
The vote was submitted by Scholz himself, apparently in an attempt to trigger early elections after the collapse of the German coalition government led by Scholz and the SPD. The government was thrown into turmoil after Scholz fired Finance Minister Christian Lindner in November following months of disagreements over Germany’s budget.
Analysts said Scholz fully expected to lose votes but wanted to call early elections because he saw this as his party’s last chance to cling to some power. Scholz said before Monday’s vote that the election is an opportunity to take the country in a new direction.
Following the no-confidence vote, Germany’s parliament was dissolved on Friday by SPD President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and snap elections were called for February 23, 2025, seven months before parliamentary elections were originally scheduled. It was done.
What is AfD?
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 Bundestag before its dissolution.
The AfD is a Eurosceptic party, meaning it is critical of Germany’s integration into the European Union.
The AfD also openly criticizes Islam and opposes mass immigration. The party opposed former German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s welcoming stance on migrants arriving from the Middle East and Africa. In 2015, under Chancellor Angela Merkel’s leadership, more than 1 million refugees arrived in Germany.
In September of this year, the AfD won 32.8% of the vote in elections for eight important state parliament seats in the eastern state of Thuringia, becoming the first far-right party to win a state election since World War II.
In early December, the AfD nominated party leader Alice Weidell as its candidate for prime minister. The nomination is largely symbolic, as the party is unlikely to win a majority. Once the federal parliament is elected, it votes for a prime minister. To become prime minister, a candidate must receive at least a majority of votes in parliament.
According to Politico, the latest poll for the next election has the AfD in second place with the support of 19% of voters as of December 28th. In first place is the conservative coalition consisting of the centre-right German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), with 30% of the vote.
The former governing body, the SPD, is expected to come in third place with 17% support.
Mainstream political parties have refused to cooperate with the AfD in government, but are still expected to form the main opposition party in parliament after the next election.
What does Mr. Musk say about the AfD?
On December 20, Musk posted on his social media platform X: “Only the AfD can save Germany.”
Musk, who has become a close ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, expanded his support for the AfD in an op-ed for the German Sunday newspaper Welt am Sonntag. The paper is published by Axel Springer Media Group, which also owns the US-based political site Politico.
Musk’s article was published online on Sunday. Translated, it reads: “The portrayal of the AfD as a right-wing extremist group is patently false, given that party leader Alice Weidell has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka!” Does that sound like Hitler? please! “
He wrote that Germany was on the “brink of economic and cultural collapse” and that “AfD can save it from what it once was.”
Musk wrote that he has “significant investments” in Germany, which gave him the right to comment on the country.
Musk said that Germany’s traditional political parties had failed in Germany, saying: “The AfD is described as far-right, but it is important to understand that many Germans feel their concerns are being ignored by the establishment. It represents a political realism that resonates.”
Has Mr. Musk ever supported other right-wing figures?
Musk has recently openly supported other far-right figures, including Nigel Farage of Britain’s Reform Party and Italy’s right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. On Thursday, Musk posted a campaign on X calling for the release of British far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
Mr Robinson was sentenced to 18 months in prison in October 2024 after making false accusations against a Syrian refugee schoolboy.
Mr. Musk, who was born in South Africa and is a naturalized US citizen, is also known for his involvement in US politics, and played a key role in Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign. Last month, Trump refuted claims that he had “ceded the presidency” to Musk.
How did the Germans react?
“It is true that Elon Musk is trying to influence the federal election,” German government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann said at a regular press conference on Monday.
“After all, freedom of opinion includes even the biggest nonsense.”
Friedrich Merz, leader of the opposition Christian Democratic Party and the frontrunner to win the chancellorship in the next general election, called Musk’s words “intrusive and exaggerated” in an interview with the German newspaper Funke Media Group. .
“I cannot recall in the history of Western democracies that there has been comparable interference in the election activities of friendly countries,” Merz said.
“In Elon Musk’s world, democracy and workers’ rights are obstacles to increasing profits,” SPD co-leader Saskia Esken told Reuters. “We say it loud and clear: our democracy can be defended, it cannot be bought.”
Shortly after Musk’s paper was published, Welt am Sonntag opinion editor Eva Marie Kogel announced her resignation regarding X.
“I’ve always enjoyed running the opinion section,” Kogel wrote in a Dec. 28 X post. “Today, an article about Elon Musk was published in Welt am Sonntag. Yesterday, after it was printed, I submitted my resignation.”
