The German government is accusing American billionaire Elon Musk of influencing the upcoming elections after supporting the pro-Russian Alternative for Germany party.
This was stated by the deputy press secretary of the government, Christiane Hoffmann, according to ZDF.
«Elon Musk is actually trying to influence the federal elections with his statements», — she said
Hoffmann said that Musk is free to express his opinion. But his article for Welt gives «a pre-election recommendation for a party», which is suspected of «extreme right-wing affiliation» and have already partially acknowledged «right-wing extremist orientation»
At the same time, the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Lars Klingbeil, compared Musk to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, reports Tages Spiegel.
«Elon Musk is trying to do the same thing as Vladimir Putin. Both want to influence our elections and, in particular, support the enemies of democracy with the AfD. They want Germany to be weakened and plunged into chaos», — he said.
According to Klingbeil, democracy in Germany is «under serious threat from outside», so the democrats need to unite, «regardless of party lines».
On December 29, Musk spoke out in support of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in his column for the German newspaper Welt. His publication caused a wave of criticism from the public and experts.
«The image of the AfD as extreme right is clearly false considering that Alice Weidel, the party leader, has a partner from Sri Lanka! It will remind you of Hitler?» — wrote Elon Musk.
He goes on to explain why he supports the AfD's position on energy, economic recovery and migration, arguing that the party's policies reflect the “principles that made Tesla and SpaceX successful”.
In 2021, Germany's domestic intelligence agency classified the AfD at the national level as an organization prone to extremism. But Musk writes that the AfD represents political realism, not extremism.
After Elon Musk's column was published in Welt, blog editor Eva Marie Kogel announced her resignation.
According to journalist Franziska Zimmerer, the article sparked heated discussions in the editorial office, and many employees spoke out against its publication.
Criticism also concerns the timing of the article, as there are only seven weeks left before the snap elections in Germany. Journalists and politicians consider the publication to be incorrect in terms of its political outlook, The Guardian notes.
On December 20, Elon Musk, who will join the administration of newly elected US President Donald Trump, first supported the far-right Alternative for Germany party.
On the social network X, he wrote that only it «can save Germany». This was his response to a post by German right-wing influencer Naomi Seibt, who criticized the leader of the polls for conservative chancellor candidates Friedrich Merz.
According to the latest polls, the AfD is in second place and could prevent the creation of a center-right or center-left majority.
Last year, Musk already expressed support for the AfD when he criticized the German government for its methods of combating illegal migration.
The voting in the Bundestag elections will take place February 23.
Germany's ruling coalition collapsed after Chancellor Olaf Scholz fired Finance Minister Christian Lindner on November 6. Other ministers and his Free Democratic Party colleagues followed.
On December 16, the Bundestag voted to dissolve the German government headed by Sholz.