German candidate Merz condemns Musk for backing far-right AfD

On December 29, Friedrich Merz, the frontrunner to become Germany’s next chancellor, criticized billionaire Elon Musk for an opinion article endorsing the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), calling the move “overbearing and presumptuous.”

Merz told the Funke media group, “I cannot recall a comparable case of interference in the election campaign of a friendly country in the history of Western democracies,” Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

The comments come after Welt am Sonntag, a newspaper owned by German media giant Axel Springer, published an article by Musk in which he described the AfD as Germany’s “last spark of hope.” The piece has sparked outrage across the political spectrum, with less than two months remaining before snap elections.

Recent polls place the AfD second behind Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) in third.

Mainstream German parties shun the AfD, known for its hardline anti-immigration stance and calls for Germany to exit the European Union. Several factions within the party have been classified as extremist by domestic intelligence agencies and are under surveillance.

Saskia Esken, co-leader of the SPD, lambasted Musk’s remarks, stating, “Our democracy is resilient and not for sale. Anyone attempting to influence our elections from outside, or who supports an anti-democratic, misanthropic party like the AfD, should expect strong resistance.”

SPD General Secretary Matthias Miersch criticized Welt am Sonntag for publishing the article, calling it “shameful and dangerous.”

Andreas Audretsch, a senior Green MP leading his party’s election campaign, also condemned Musk’s intervention. “It undermines our democracy when individuals like Mr Musk, the Chinese state, or Moscow’s troll factories disrupt democratic discourse,” he said.

Representatives for Musk and Axel Springer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

By Aghakazim Guliyev