German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has expressed concern about Elon Musk’s support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which is just weeks away from next month’s general election.
In an interview with Stern magazine published Saturday, Scholz said he was unfazed by the American tech billionaire’s attacks on him and other German politicians, but said he was unfazed by Musk’s support for far-right parties. He said he was far more concerned.
“Far more worrying than such insults is Mr. Musk’s support for partially far-right parties such as the AfD, which advocates closer ties to President Vladimir Putin’s Russia and seeks to weaken transatlantic relations. “The fact is that we have a lot of people,” the chancellor told a German magazine.
Musk to hold live talk with AfD’s Alice Weidel on X
Musk recently endorsed the AfD in a lengthy opinion piece published in Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
Germany’s domestic intelligence agency is monitoring the national political party AfD on suspicion of being a right-wing extremist organization. Some state-level affiliates of the AfD have already received that designation.
The party has made significant gains in eastern Germany in recent local votes, with its support rating in opinion polls nearly doubling to around 20% ahead of a snap election on February 23.
Musk is scheduled to have a live talk with AfD leader Alice Weidell on January 9th at X-Space.
Scholz: ‘Stay calm’ about Musk’s attack
Musk, a top adviser to US President-elect Donald Trump, has been commenting on German politics on his social media platform X in recent days.
He called Scholz a “fool” and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier an “undemocratic tyrant.”
Scholz said the rich media mogul’s disdain was not surprising.
“As social democrats, we have been accustomed since the last century to wealthy media entrepreneurs who do not value social democratic politics and are not afraid to express their opinions,” Scholz said. he told Stern, referring to the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD).
The Prime Minister said this situation was not new, although as the media evolved, the reach of their voices increased. “We must remain calm,” he said, as several German politicians expressed frustration at the ordeal.
Musk made a personal request to Scholz over the phone in 2022 regarding a federal plan to subsidize charging stations across the country. Tesla, owned by Musk, operates its own system of charging stations in Germany.
“It’s no secret that Tesla opposed government funding for charging stations in Germany,” the prime minister said, suggesting Musk’s comments were motivated by corporate dissatisfaction.
Habeck says comments are ‘frontal attack on democracy’
German Deputy Prime Minister Robert Habeck had more pointed words for Mr. Musk.
“Take your hands off our democracy, Mr. Musk!” Mr. Harbeck told the German news magazine Der Spiegel when asked if Mr. Musk was a threat to Germany. He was an outspoken critic of Musk’s support for the far-right AfD.
Habeck said the billionaire, who is expected to play a key role in the next U.S. government, is doing everything he can to advance his interests.
“The combination of vast wealth, control of information and networks, use of artificial intelligence, and a willingness to ignore the rules is a frontal assault on our democracy,” Habeck said.
He also described Musk’s recent articles supporting the AfD as “terrible” and warned that his attempts to influence German politics should not be underestimated.
“The world’s richest man, who owns one of the most powerful communication platforms, is openly supporting a party that is partly right-wing extremist. We should not make the mistake of ignoring this,” he said. said.
mk/wd (dpa)
