BERLIN A government official warned Monday that billionaire Elon Musk is attempting to influence the February German election.
With X postings and an opinion piece he wrote over the weekend supporting the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD), it is certain that Elon Musk is attempting to sway the federal election, she added.
The representative also stated that Musk was allowed to voice his thoughts. After all, the biggest rubbish is also covered by freedom of opinion.
Musk, who is expected to work as an outside consultant for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, has endorsed the AfD. This comes as Germans prepare to cast their ballots on February 23 following the fall of an alliance government headed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Musk wrote on social media platform X last week that only the AfD can save Germany and praised the party’s approach to regulation, taxes, and market deregulation. The commentary, which was published in German in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper, the flagship of the Axel Springer media group, built on that post.
The editor of the newspaper’s opinion section announced her resignation on X after his commentary was published.
“I cannot recall a comparable case of interference, in the history of Western democracies, in the election campaign of a friendly country,” stated Friedrich Merz, the leader of the opposition Christian Democrats and the current front-runner to succeed Scholz as chancellor, in an interview with Funke Media Group.
Merz called the commentary arrogant and invasive.
Co-leader of Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), Saskia Esken, pledged adamant opposition to attempts by the wealthy and powerful, as well as governmental actors, to sway Germany’s elections.
Democracy and workers’ rights are barriers to greater profit in Elon Musk’s society, Esken told Reuters. We state unequivocally that our democracy cannot be purchased and is defendable.
In defense of the choice to publish the remark, Welt’s editor-in-chief designate stated that freedom of thought, even divisive viewpoints, is essential to democracy and journalism.
A center-left or center-right majority could be thwarted by the AfD, which is now ranked second in opinion polls. The mainstream, more centrist parties in Germany have vowed to reject any national backing from the AfD.
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