BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was keeping his cool about Elon Musk’s critical personal comments, but the American billionaire said he would participate in the general election in support of the far-right Alternative for Germany. He said the effort was worrisome. (AfD) political party.
Scholz was reacting to Musk, a close ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, calling the prime minister a “fool” after the coalition collapsed in November and later endorsing the AfD in an op-ed in a leading German newspaper.
Scholz, leader of Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), said in an opinion piece published by the German magazine Stern on Saturday that “there is nothing new in the criticism of rich media entrepreneurs who do not hesitate and do not recognize social democratic politics.” “In their opinion.”
“You have to keep your cool,” Scholz told Stern.
“Even more worrying than that insult is the fact that Musk supports parties like the AfD, which are far-right extremists who call for reconciliation with Putin’s Russia and want to undermine the transatlantic relationship,” Scholz said.
The AfD is under surveillance by Germany’s domestic intelligence services on suspicion of being a right-wing extremist, and is already recognized as such in some German states.
Germany is scheduled to hold early parliamentary elections on February 23 after Scholz’s coalition collapsed in November amid disputes over how to revitalize Germany’s sagging economy.
Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Robert Habeck also warned Musk not to interfere in German politics.
“Hands off our democracy, Mr. Musk!” Habeck said in an interview with Spiegel magazine:
“The combination of enormous wealth, control over information and networks, use of artificial intelligence and willingness to ignore the rules is a frontal assault on our democracy,” said Habeck, the Green Party’s candidate for prime minister.
Musk caused an uproar after supporting the AfD in a recent op-ed in Welt am Sonntag, which prompted the newspaper’s editorial editor Eva Marie Kogel to resign in protest.
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“The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is the last spark of hope for this country,” Musk wrote in translated comments.
The Tesla Motors CEO also wrote that his investment in Germany gave him the right to comment on the situation in the country.
Although the AfD is polling strongly, its top candidate, Alice Weidel, has no realistic chance of becoming prime minister because other parties refuse to cooperate with the far-right party.
