German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has expressed fears about Elon Musk’s far-right election for Germany (AFD), weeks ahead of the country’s snap elections next month.

Scholz, in an interview with Stern magazine published on Saturday, while unfazed by the American billionaire’s attacks on him and other German politicians, Musk’s endorsement of the far-right party is far more sinister.

“Far more concerning than such insults is the fact that Musk supports a partly far-right party like the AfD, which advocates rapprochement with Putin’s Russia and seeks to weaken trans-Atlantic relations,” the chancellor told the German magazine.

Musk supported the AfD in a long opinion piece recently published in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

Germany’s national intelligence monitors the AfD National Party, which is suspected to be a far-right organization. Some national branches of AFD have already earned this designation.

The party has made mass advances in East Germany in recent regional votes and has almost doubled its popularity, measured in opinion surveys, to about 20%, before the SNAP elections of February 23.

Musk is scheduled to take a convention with AFD leader Alice Weidel at the X spaces on January 9.

Musk, the most sensible advisor to US President-elect Donald Trump, has been commenting on German politics on his social media platform X for several days.

Scholz a “fool” and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier a “antidemocratic tyrant. “

Scholz said insults from media spaces were commonplace.

“As Social Democrats, we have been accustomed since the last century to wealthy media entrepreneurs who do not appreciate social democratic politics — and are not shy about expressing their opinions,” Scholz told Stern, in reference to his center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD).

Although their voices are becoming more successful as the media evolves, the scenario is not new, the chancellor said. “You have to stay calm,” he said as several German politicians expressed their irritation at the ordeal.

Musk, in 2022, made a private request to Scholz to make a phone call related to the federal government’s plans to subsidize electric charging stations across the country. Musk-owned Tesla operates its own charging station in Germany.

“It’s no secret that Tesla opposed government investment in electric charging stations in Germany,” the chancellor said, suggesting that Musk’s comments stemmed from corporate discontent.

German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck had sharper words for Musk.

“Hands off our democracy, Mr. Musk!” Habeck told German news magazine Der Spiegel when asked whether Musk was a threat to Germany. He criticized Musk’s outspoken support for the far-right AfD.

Hayeck said the billionaire, who is expected to play a leading role in the next United States government, doing everything he can to advance in his own interests.  

“The mixture of immense wealth, of data and networks, the use of synthetic intelligence and the willingness to forget about regulations is a frontal attack on our democracy,” said Habeck.

He further described Musk’s recent article endorsing the AfD as “awful,” and warned that his attempts to influence German politics must not be underestimated.

“The richest man in the world, who owns one of the most powerful communication platforms, openly supports a party that is partly right-wing extremist. We should not make the mistake of dismissing this,” he said. 

MK/WD (DPA)