“Only the AfD can save Germany” : two months before the February election, American billionaire Elon Musk, close to Donald Trump, de facto interfered in the electoral campaign in Germany by supporting the far-right party AfD (Alternative für Deutschland) on his X platform , Friday December 20.
The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, did not hide his uneasiness: “Freedom of expression also applies to billionaires”he conceded during a press conference with his Estonian counterpart. “But freedom of expression also means that we can say things that are not fair and that are not good political advice”added the 66-year-old leader, candidate for re-election.
This is not the first time that the owner of the X platform has commented on German politics. The embarrassment is commensurate with the growing influence that the multibillionaire seems to have over the future Trump presidency. On November 8, he called Olaf Scholz a « fou »in the wake of the breakup of the government coalition in Germany on November 6, which will lead to early elections on February 23. Last summer, ahead of the regional elections in the former GDR where the far right achieved historic scores, he said that the positions of the AfD did not seem to him “extreme right”.
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“This is an alarming signal”
The general secretary of Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD) has warned against any external interference in the German countryside. “If billionaire Elon Musk now actively engages in the election campaign with his X platform to give momentum to the AfD, this is an alarming signal”Matthias Miersch told t-online media, adding in English « Stay out, Elon » (“stay out of it, Elon”). A MEP from the conservative opposition, Dennis Radtke, for his part described Mr. Musk as « menace ». “Trump, Farage and now the AfD. Added to this is Putin’s interference”he said on X.
The Alternative for Germany, a far-right group hostile to migrants, anti-system and pro-Russian, was jubilant. In a video on X, posing in front of a Christmas tree, the leader of this group, Alice Weidel, directly thanked Musk in English and wished him and Donald Trump, “the best for the next term”.
The AfD is credited with around 19% of voting intentions in the polls for the February election. The conservatives of the CDU/CSU are in the lead with around 32%, the German leader's SPD is at around 15%. All parties rule out government cooperation with the AfD.
Elon Musk, also boss of the electric car manufacturer Tesla which has set up a large factory in the south of Berlin, has not hidden his sympathies for European populist parties. He is considered close to the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, president of the Brothers of Italy party.
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Attacks on the Labor Party
The richest man on the planet, who is to occupy official functions in the next Republican administration of President-elect Donald Trump, has also increased attacks in the United Kingdom against the ruling Labor Party. A few weeks ago, the possibility of a donation of one hundred million dollars (121 million euros) to Reform UK, Nigel Farage's far-right party, made the Tories jump, who fear being swallowed up by the extremes like the Republicans in the United States.
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During a regular press conference on Friday, a spokesperson for Olaf Scholz did not want to comment on a possible action by Berlin with the European Commission to ask it to investigate Musk's behavior.
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Christiane Hoffmann just made a general reference to the European Digital Services Act which sets rules on how online platforms must behave during election campaigns. In the event of an infringement, it is the European Commission which must act, she said. She also ruled out that the chancellor would withdraw in reaction to the X platform. “It is important that we are represented as democratic forces, as a federal government, on these platforms which touch many people and where debates are shaped”she said.
