Tesla CEO Elon Musk has called on the people of Germany to “say no” to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. His statement came after Germany’s ruling Social Democrats (SPD) on Saturday announced Scholz as the party’s candidate for the December 23 federal elections.
Musk made the statement on the Women convicted receive longer prison sentences than rapists.
In response to the two posts shared on X, Elon Musk wrote, “Sag nein zu scholz!” Which translates to “Say No to Scholz” in English.
Snap elections for a new parliament in Germany are scheduled to be held on February 23 after Scholz lost a confidence vote in parliament in December.
Musk has publicly expressed support for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party ahead of snap elections in Germany. Earlier on January 9, Musk had called Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-leader Alice Weidel “very reasonable” and called on Germans to vote for the far-right party, CNN reported.
During an audio livestream with AfD co-leader Weidel on X, Musk said, “Only the AfD can save Germany, end of story, and people really need to get behind the AfD, and otherwise Germany “Things are going to get very, very bad.” ,
He compared Germany’s political climate to the US and emphasized that people were unhappy and wanted change when they voted for Trump in November, CNN reported. “If you’re unhappy with the situation, you should vote for change, and that’s why I’m really strongly recommending that people vote for the AfD,” the Tesla CEO said.
Weidel said it was “unbelievable” how Germany treated Trump when he was campaigning to become US president, adding that seeing Trump “humiliated” caused him “physical pain”.
During the same conversation, Alice Weidel said that Germany needed to delineate Israel’s existence and “take up our responsibility as a German nation state to protect Jewish life”, which she said was threatened by “Muslim crime”. Was. He called the AfD “the sole defender of the Jewish people” in Germany, CNN reported.
On December 20, Musk wrote on Twitter, “Only the AfD can save Germany.” He made this statement after the fall of the German government, to which Weidel responded at the time, “Yes! You are absolutely right!”
Musk has called German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier an “anti-democratic dictator” after he made remarks against foreign interference during his speech at the dissolution of Germany’s parliament. He called for Scholz’s resignation after the car-hitting attack in Magdeburg and called him an “incompetent idiot” in a post on X.
After Elon Musk endorsed the AfD, the German government accused Elon Musk of interfering in the country’s upcoming election, Euro News reported. Officials including government spokesman Christian Hoffmann, Social Democratic Party (SPD) co-leader Lars Klingbeil and Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany’s largest opposition party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), condemned Musk’s statement in Germany.
“It is indeed the case that Elon Musk is trying to influence the federal election through his statements,” Hoffman said.
He added that while Musk is “free to express his opinion” it was worth noting that Musk was recommending voting for a party “suspected of being right-wing extremists” by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. and which has already been “identified as right-wing extremist in some quarters.”
SPD co-leader Lars Klingbiel also criticized Musk, comparing him to Russian President Vladimir Putin and accusing him of election interference. In an interview with Funke Mediengroup on Monday, Klingbiel compared Musk to Putin, saying that “both want to influence our elections and are deliberately supporting the AfD, the enemy of democracy. They want Germany to weaken and Plunge into chaos.”
As Euro News reports, “We need to be more proactive and effectively limit the power of large Internet platforms like Musk’s short messaging service, X. Here, a tech billionaire is out to influence the course of world politics. Trying to use his influence.”
CDU leader Friedrich Merz described Musk’s support of the far-right AfD as an unprecedented example of interference between allies and highlighted the potential economic harm of AfD policies, such as his push for Germany to exit the European Union.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
