German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has dismissed recent insults directed at him and other German leaders by Elon Musk, calling the X boss a "troll." In an interview with the German weekly Stern, Scholz said, "Don’t feed the troll," when asked about Musk’s comments.

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Scholz said, “You have to stay cool. As Social Democrats, we have long been used to the fact that there are rich media entrepreneurs who do not appreciate social democratic politics – and do not hide their opinions.”

'The rule is: don’t feed the troll'

The chancellor also made it clear he had no intention of engaging with Musk. “I don’t believe in courting Mr Musk’s favour. I’m happy to leave that to others,” he added. “The rule is: don’t feed the troll.”

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Musk has publicly endorsed the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party ahead of Germany's federal elections in February and is set to host a live discussion with the party’s chancellor candidate, Alice Weidel, on his social media platform, X. 

“What I find much more worrying than such insults is that Musk is supporting a party like the AfD, which is in parts right-wing extremist, which preaches rapprochement with Putin’s Russia and wants to weaken transatlantic relations,” Scholz said.

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Musk has been vocal in his criticism of Germany’s leadership, referring to federal president Frank-Walter Steinmeier as an “anti-democratic tyrant” last month. 

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Scholz responded to that comment during the interview, saying, “The German president is not an anti-democratic tyrant, and Germany is a strong and stable democracy—never mind what Mr Musk says. In Germany, the will of the citizens prevails, not the erratic comments of a billionaire from the USA.”

The billionaire has also taken aim at Scholz personally. Following the collapse of Scholz’s centre-left coalition in November, Musk called the chancellor a “fool” on X. More recently, Musk said, “Chancellor Oaf Schitz or whatever his name is will lose.”

Musk argued that the party was unfairly labelled as extremist, pointing to Alice Weidel’s personal life as evidence: “The portrayal of the AfD as right-wing extremist is clearly false, considering that Alice Weidel, the party’s leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!”

Musk’s article caused controversy, with the newspaper’s commentary editor resigning in protest.

(With inputs from agencies)