Elon Musk claims that Alice Weidel, the AfD party’s candidate, is a decent person and exhorts Germans to vote for her during the election.
In an attempt to use his social media platform, X, to spread the party’s message ahead of a national election, tech billionaire Elon Musk live-streamed his conversation with a leader of Germany’s far-right party. This raised concerns throughout Europe about the richest man in the world attempting to influence international politics.
The AfD is the solution to Germany’s problems, Musk and AfD chancellor candidate Alice Weidel said Thursday in a broad, occasionally stilted discussion that touched on immigration, German bureaucracy, energy policy, space colonization, God, and Adolf Hitler.
“People really need to get behind AfD, otherwise things are going to get very, very much worse in Germany,” Musk stated.
As I’ve stated in public, I firmly believe that only the AfD can save Germany. And I just want to be really clear about that: Germany can only be saved by the AfD, period,” he stated.
Last month, Musk intensified his support for the anti-immigration, anti-Islamic party that German security agencies have labeled as right-wing extremist. This has generated a stir in Berlin and led to allegations of improper influence.
Despite being in second place, the AfD has very little prospect of establishing a government because other parties won’t cooperate. However, detractors fear that Musk’s backing of the AfD may increase its appeal even more, undermining support for mainstream parties and making it more difficult for them to come together as a cohesive coalition.
Weidel, who spoke in English, thanked Musk for the chance to speak on his platform and conveyed his appreciation for his support.
The impact of Musk
Musk was accused by the German government last week of trying to sway the election campaign in his home country by endorsing the AfD.
He is free to voice his thoughts, but “in fact, Elon Musk is trying to influence the federal election through his statements,” Christiane Hoffmann, a deputy government spokesman, stated during a news conference in Berlin.
She emphasized that elections are a German business and are decided by the electorate when they cast their ballots.
European leaders have voiced concern over Musk’s recent political actions, with some calling on the EU to enforce its laws more strictly in order to protect the continent’s democracy from outside interference.
As part of its continuing investigation into X and alleged infractions of its Digital Services Act for perhaps providing preferential treatment to “certain types of content,” the European Commission has stated that it will examine the conversation.
