Elon Musk, who is already about to join the new government of newly-elected President Donald Trump as an external advisor, is now also poking his head into the upcoming elections in Germany. Musk took to social media on Friday to support the country’s far-right party, Alternative for Germany (AfD).
‘Only the AfD can save Germany’ Musk wrote about Xthe platform he acquired in 2022.
Musk made that comment in response to a video by far-right activist Naomi Seibt, in which she attacks Friedrich Merz, who heads the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) party and reportedly leading the polls to become Germany’s next chancellor.
Seibt claimed in her post that Merz “is shocked by the idea that Germany should follow Elon Musk’s plans [Argentinian President] Javier Milei’s example of reforming the country with drastic cuts in public spending.
Musk has become a close confidante of Trump, who previously said he would appoint him co-director of a new federal advisory group, the Department of Government Efficiency (or DOGE), which reportedly will only aim to restore supposedly wasteful government spending push.
Musk appears to be naturally drawn to the AfD, whose nationalist and anti-immigration rhetoric mirrors Trump’s, and images re-shared on X last year from a pro-AfD account criticizing Germany for subsidizing efforts to save refugees from drowning in the Mediterranean Sea.
The German Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded immediately at the time to note, “It’s called saving lives.”
Alex Brandon/Associated Press
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz addressed the AfD’s endorsement of Musk at an unrelated press conference on Friday, saying freedom of speech also applies “to multi-billionaires” but that it does not stop them from “saying things that are not true ‘. according to Bloomberg.
Scholz led a three-party coalition government until he fired his Finance Minister Christian Lindner, head of the Free Democratic Party, in November. This left his coalition without a majority in parliament, where Scholz lost a confidence vote on Monday, leading to new elections.
The AfD is currently in second place with 19% behind the CDU. according to Politics.
Musk is certainly willing to spend a fortune on elections, as he has reportedly shelled out more than a quarter of a billion dollars to reinstall Trump in the White House. He recently met Nigel Farage in the midst of speculation about a $100 million donation to boost his right-wing party, Reform UK.
However, Musk will not be able to help fund the AfD’s efforts directly, as German law prohibits non-European foreigners of a donation of more than 1,000 euros. Nevertheless, he certainly exerts enormous influence through X.
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The German elections, originally scheduled for September next year, will take place on February 23, 2025.