Elon Musk Sparks Political Tensions in Germany as Chancellor Scholz Responds
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his deputy took a firm stance on December 31 against Elon Musk's support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, as the billionaire continued to involve himself in German politics. Without directly naming Musk, Scholz emphasized in his New Year's Eve speech that the future of Germany will be determined by its citizens, not by the owners of social media platforms. He remarked, 'In our debates, one can sometimes get the impression that the most extreme opinions get the greatest attention. But it's not those who shout loudest who will decide Germany's future, but the broad majority of sensible and respectable people.' Scholz is gearing up for a challenging election on February 23, following the collapse of his unruly center-left coalition last month.
Elon Musk has been vocally critical of Scholz, labeling him a fool and demanding his resignation following a tragic car ramming incident at a Christmas market in Magdeburg. Musk, who is among the wealthiest individuals globally and owns the social media platform X, has gone as far as to declare the AfD as the only party capable of rescuing Germany. His controversial views were further amplified when he wrote an opinion piece in the German newspaper Die Welt last week, which subsequently led to the resignation of the publication's opinion editor.
In his own New Year's address, Green Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck accused Musk of aiming to weaken Europe for his own commercial gain, stating, 'A weak Europe is in the interests of those for whom regulation represents an unreasonable limit on their power.' Musk, who is tipped to be a potential presidential candidate in the United States, has not held back in his criticism of German leaders. He recently branded German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier as an 'antidemocratic tyrant' in a post on X. Shortly after, he predicted that the AfD would achieve an 'epic victory' in upcoming elections.
Current polling averages indicate that the AfD is in second place with 19% support, trailing the main opposition coalition of CDU/CSU, which sits at 32%. Scholz's Social Democrats are projected to receive their lowest results ever at 16%, while the Greens are polling at 13%. Notably, all other mainstream parties in Germany have categorically ruled out forming any coalition with the AfD.
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