Germany’s government accused US billionaire Elon Musk of attempting to influence the upcoming February elections by praising the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), a move that has been strongly rejected by major political parties.
Musk, a prominent supporter of US President-elect Donald Trump, posted on his social media platform X earlier this month that “only the AfD can save Germany.” He later reiterated his position in an opinion piece published in a German Sunday newspaper.
On Monday, German government spokesperson Christiane Hoffmann stated that “it is a fact that Elon Musk is trying to exert influence on the parliamentary election.” She emphasized that elections in Germany are “decided by voters at the ballot box,” adding that the country’s elections are a matter for Germans alone.
Germany will hold its parliamentary elections on February 23, following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s centre-left coalition government last month. Hoffmann acknowledged Musk’s right to express his views but noted, “one doesn’t have to share it.” She also pointed out that various branches of the AfD have been labeled “extremist” by Germany’s domestic security agency.
Lars Klingbeil, co-leader of Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), accused Musk of trying to follow in the footsteps of Russian President Vladimir Putin. “They both want to influence our elections and support the AfD, which is hostile to democracy,” Klingbeil said. He further claimed that Musk and Putin sought to “weaken Germany and push it into chaos.”
Klingbeil called for stronger European measures to limit the political influence of major social media platforms like X. Musk has used the platform to attack Scholz, most recently criticizing him after a deadly car-ramming incident at a Christmas market in Magdeburg on December 20. Musk called Scholz an “incompetent fool” and urged him to “resign immediately.”
Musk’s interference in German politics has also drawn criticism from Friedrich Merz, leader of the conservative opposition CDU/CSU. Merz described Musk’s endorsement of the AfD as “interfering and presumptuous” and said he could not recall “a comparable case of meddling in the election campaign of an allied country in the history of Western democracy.”
In the latest polls, the AfD is in second place at 19 percent, trailing the CDU/CSU at 32 percent. The SPD is forecast to achieve its worst-ever result, at just 16 percent, while its Green coalition partners are polling at 13 percent.
