BERLIN
The German government accused US business magnate Elon Musk on Monday of trying to influence the country’s election campaign by reaffirming his support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Although he is free to express his opinions, “Elon Musk is in fact trying to influence the federal elections through his statements,” deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann said at a news conference in Berlin.
Elections are decided by the voters when they vote and are a German affair, she stressed.
Musk, who also owns social media platform X, had written a guest editorial in the WELT daily expressing his support for the AfD.
Hoffmann said that while “freedom of expression is a valuable asset,” one does not have to share his position.
She pointed out that Musk had suggested voting for a party that was being monitored by the country’s domestic intelligence agency (Bureau for the Protection of the Constitution) as a potential right-wing extremist case.
On December 20, Musk, who will serve as an advisor to newly-elected US President Donald Trump, wrote on X that “only the AfD can save Germany.”
Musk had also insulted Chancellor Olaf Scholz by calling him an “incompetent fool” in the wake of the recent deadly terror attack in the eastern city of Magdeburg.
The AfD currently ranks second in national surveys and could thwart a center-right or center-left majority.
However, Germany’s mainstream, more centrist parties have vowed to refuse to form a coalition with the AfD at the national level.
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