The German government on Monday accused American billionaire Elon Musk of interfering in the upcoming February elections after he supported the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in X-rated articles and an opinion piece published in the Welt am newspaper. Sonntag.

German leaders have accused Musk, who claimed the AfD is the only party capable of “saving” Germany, of seeking to “influence federal elections” as the country heads toward early elections amid political unrest next month.

So what and what does it all mean?

Since 2013, the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) has governed Germany, which is Europe’s largest economy, leading other coalition governments.

However, the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz of the SPD, lost a confidence vote in parliament on December 16.

The vote, tabled by Scholz himself apparently in a bid to trigger an early election, came after the collapse of the German governing coalition government headed by Scholz and SPD. The government was thrown into turmoil when Scholz fired Finance Minister Christian Lindner in November following months of disagreements over Germany’s budget.

Analysts say Scholz expected to lose the vote, but tried to call early elections, which he saw as his party’s last chance to cling to power. Before Monday’s vote, Scholz said an election would be an opportunity to put the country on a new path.

Following the vote of no confidence, the German parliament was dissolved by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier of SPD on Friday, and snap elections were called for February 23, 2025, seven months before parliamentary elections were originally scheduled to take place.

Alternative for Germany (AfD) is considered a far-right populist party in Germany. It was founded in 2013 and held 76 of the 733 seats in the German parliament, or Bundestag, before dissolving.

The AfD is a eurosceptic party and criticizes Germany’s integration into the European Union.

The AfD also brazenly criticises Islam and opposes mass immigration. The has opposed former German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s welcoming stance toward immigrants arriving from the Middle East and Africa. In 2015, under Merkel’s leadership, more than a million refugees arrived in Germany.

In September this year, AfD won a key election for the eight Landtag seats of the eastern state of Thuringia with 32.8 percent of the vote, marking the first state election win for a far-right party since World War II.

The AfD nominated party leader Alice Weidel as its candidate for chancellor in early December. The nomination is largely symbolic since the party is unlikely to win a majority. Once the Bundestag is elected, it votes for the chancellor. To become chancellor, a candidate needs to receive votes from more than half of the parliament.

For the next elections, the latest polls place the AfD in second position, with 19% of the electorate on December 28, according to Politico. In first position, with 30%, is the conservative coalition formed by the center-right parties, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU).

The former leading group, the SPD, is in third place, with an expectation of 17 percent.

The mainstream parties have refused to work with AfD in government, but it is nevertheless projected to form the largest opposition in parliament following the upcoming elections.

On December 20, Musk posted on X, the social media platform he owns: “Only the AfD can save Germany.”

Musk, who has become a close associate of US President-elect Donald Trump, expanded on his views for the AfD in an op-ed for Welt am Sonntag, a German Sunday newspaper. The newspaper is published through the Axel Springer media group, which also owns the US online political site Politico.

Musk’s article published online on Sunday. Translated, it reads: “The description of the AfD as a right-wing extremist is obviously false, given that Alice Weidel, the party’s leader, has a same-sex spouse from Sri Lanka!Does this remind you of Hitler?

He wrote that Germany is “on the verge of economic and cultural collapse” and that “the AfD can save Germany from becoming a shadow of its former self. “

Musk wrote that he had “significant investments” in Germany, which gave him the right to comment about the country.

Declaring that classic German parties have failed in Germany, Musk wrote: “The AfD, portrayed as far-right, represents a political realism that resonates with many Germans who feel their considerations are being ignored by the establishment. “

Musk has openly backed other far-right figures recently, including Nigel Farage of the United Kingdom’s Reform party and Italy’s right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. On Thursday, Musk posted on X campaigning for the release of far-right UK activist Tommy Robinson.

Robinson was sentenced to 18 months in prison in October 2024 after making false accusations against a Syrian refugee schoolboy.

Musk, who was born in South Africa but is also a naturalised US citizen, has also been known for getting involved in US politics and was a prominent part of Trump’s presidential campaign. Last month, Trump refuted claims that he had “ceded the presidency” to Musk.

“It is true that Elon Musk will influence the federal elections,” German government spokesperson Christiane Hoffmann said at a regular press conference on Monday.

“After all, freedom of opinion covers the greatest absurdities. »

Friedrich Merz, leader of the Christian Democrat opposition and current favorite to be elected chancellor in the next election, called Musk’s comments “intrusive and pretentious” in an interview with German newspaper Funke Media Group.

“I don’t see a comparable case of interference, in the history of Western democracies, in the electoral crusade of a friendly country,” Merz said.

“In Elon Musk’s world, democracy and workers’ rights are obstacles to more profit,” Saskia Esken, co-leader of SPD told Reuters. “We say quite clearly: Our democracy is defensible and it cannot be bought.”

Shortly after Musk’s article was published, Eva Marie Kogel, opinion of Welt am Sonntag, announced her resignation at X.

“I’ve always enjoyed leading the opinion section,” Kogel wrote in a Dec. 28 X post. “Today an article by Elon Musk appeared in Welt am Sonntag. I submitted my resignation after its publication.