Elon Musk, already set to affix the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump as an outdoor adviser, is now additionally sticking his head into Germany’s upcoming elections. Musk endorsed the nation’s far-right celebration, Different for Germany (AfD), on social media Friday.
“Only the AfD can save Germany,” Musk wrote on X, the platform he acquired in 2022.
Musk made that remark in response to a video from far-right activist Naomi Seibt, through which she slammed Friedrich Merz, who leads the Christian Democratic Union of Germany celebration (CDU) and is reportedly main within the polls to grow to be Germany’s subsequent chancellor.
Seibt claimed in her publish that Merz “is horrified by the idea that Germany should follow Elon Musk’s and [Argentinian President] Javier Milei’s example” of reforming the nation with drastic public spending cuts.
Musk has grow to be a detailed confidante of Trump’s, who beforehand stated he would title him co-director of a brand new federal advisory group, the Division of Authorities Effectivity (or DOGE), that may purportedly solely intention to slash supposedly wasteful authorities spending.
Musk seems naturally drawn to the AfD, whose nationalist and anti-immigration rhetoric mirrors Trump’s, and reshared footage final 12 months on X from a pro-AfD account that criticized Germany for subsidizing efforts to rescue refugees from drowning within the Mediterranean.
The German International Workplace replied immediately on the time to notice, “It’s called saving lives.”
Alex Brandon/Related Press
German chancellor Olaf Scholz addressed Musk’s AfD endorsement throughout an unrelated press convention Friday and stated freedom of speech does additionally apply “to multibillionaires,” however that it doesn’t stop them from saying “things that are not right,” per Bloomberg.
Scholz led a three-party coalition authorities till he fired his finance minister Christian Lindner, head of the Free Democratic Social gathering, in November. This left his coalition with out a majority in Parliament, the place Scholz misplaced a confidence vote Monday, triggering new elections.
The AfD is at present polling in second at 19% behind the CDU, per Politico.
Musk is definitely keen to lay our a fortune on elections, as he reportedly doled out greater than a quarter-billion {dollars} to reinstall Trump within the White Home. He just lately met with Nigel Farage amid hypothesis over a $100 million donation to spice up his right-wing celebration, Reform UK.
Musk gained’t have the ability to immediately assist finance the AfD’s efforts, nonetheless, as German regulation prohibits non-European foreigners from donating greater than 1,000 euros. He definitely wields large affect by way of X, nonetheless.
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Germany’s election, initially scheduled for subsequent September, will probably be on Feb. 23, 2025.
