Elon Musk supports the far-right Alternative for Germany party ahead of the elections | news

Germans are expected to cast their votes on February 23 after the collapse of a centre-left coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

American billionaire Elon Musk supports the far right Alternative to Germany Alternative für Germany (AFD) party as the European country prepares to hold elections in February.

The Alternative for Germany party is ranked second in opinion polls and may be able to thwart a center-right or center-left majority. But the more centrist parties in Germany’s mainstream have promised to refuse to form a coalition with the AfD at the national level.

“Only the AfD can save Germany,” Musk wrote on Friday in a post on his social media platform X.

Voting in Europe’s largest economy is expected to take place on February 23 after the collapse of a centre-left coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Musk, who is set to join US President-elect Donald Trump’s administration as an advisor, has already expressed support for other far-right anti-immigration parties across Europe.

The German government said it took note of Musk’s post but refused to make any further comment at its regular press conference.

Freedom of opinion “also applies to billionaires” and “means that you can say things that are not true and do not contain good political advice,” Scholz told reporters at a news conference.

Musk, the world’s richest person, has previously expressed his support For the Alternative for Germany party last year When he attacked the German government’s handling of illegal immigration.

Last month, Musk called for the dismissal of Italian judges who questioned the legality of government measures to prevent illegal immigration.

‘unacceptable’

German lawmakers from across the major parties reacted angrily to Musk’s comment.

“It is dangerous, disturbing and unacceptable that a key figure in the future US government is interfering in the German election campaign,” Dennis Radtke, a member of the European Parliament for the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), told the Handelsblatt daily newspaper.

Radtke described Musk as a “threat to democracy in the Western world”, accusing the world’s richest man of turning X, formerly called Twitter, into a “misinformation slingshot”.

Alex Schaefer, a lawmaker from Schulz’s Social Democratic Party, said Musk’s post was “completely unacceptable.”

He added: “We are very close to the Americans, but courage is required now towards our friend. “We object to interference in our election campaign,” Schäfer told the daily Tagesspiegel.

Former Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the pro-business Free Democratic Party said he was “inspired” by some of Musk’s ideas but urged the Tesla chief not to “jump to conclusions from far away.”

“While controlling immigration is crucial for Germany, the AfD stands against freedom and business – a far-right party,” the politician wrote.