‘Say NO to Scholz,’ Musk declares as Germany decries election meddling
World | Trending: Over the past few months, Musk has made several posts criticising Scholz’s government and supporting the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
In another sign of US billionaire Elon Musk’s growing political interference in Europe, the Tesla boss urged all German citizens to “say no" to Chancellor Olaf Scholz ahead of crucial snap legislative polls. The polls are slated to be held on February 23, and Scholz was declared as the candidate by his Social Democrats (SPD) party on Saturday (Jan 11).
The X boss was responding to a post about Scholz’s nomination as the official party candidate. Musk wrote, “Sag Nein zu Scholz!," alongside a screenshot of a news report about a woman convicted of “offending" migrant gang rapists, who was given a longer sentence than the rapists themselves.
Musk’s message in German language translates in English to: “Say No to Scholz".
Germany is going to snap elections after Scholz lost a no-confidence vote in December last year.
Musk’s open support to right-wing AfD party
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Over the past few months, the American billionaire and a key ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, has made several posts criticising Scholz’s government and instead thrown his weight behind the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
During a recent X space session along with AfD co-leader Alice Weidel, Musk said, “Only AfD can save Germany, end of story, and people really need to get behind AfD, and otherwise things are going to get very, very much worse in Germany."
Also read: German far-right leader Alice Weidel joins Elon Musk for discussion on X amid fears he's interfering
Musk also drew a parallel between political environments in Germany and the US, arguing that people were not happy and were longing for a change. Weidel, meanwhile, criticised the Scholz administration for mistreating Trump during his election campaign and said it caused her “physical pain" to see the Republican leader “disparaged."
Scholz has slammed Musk for what he sees as ‘meddling’ in the German elections, saying he won’t allow “owners of social media channels" to decide the poll results.
Leaders from the ruling SPD party and opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) have also condemned Musk for his brazen comments. “It is indeed the case that Elon Musk is trying to influence the federal election through his statements," said government spokesperson Christiane Hoffmann.
(With inputs from agencies)