Elon Musk expresses support for far-right party

U.S. tech mogul Elon Musk has announced his support for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which leads the far-right movement in Germany, through a statement on his social media platform, X. Musk stated, "Only the AfD can save Germany." 

In a press conference, Chancellor Scholz addressed Musk's remarks, noting that freedom of speech "also applies to multibillionaires" and added, "This also means that you can say things that are not true and do not contain good political advice."

Christian Lindner, the former Finance Minister from the Free Democratic Party whom Scholz dismissed in November, triggering the collapse of the coalition government, called on Musk not to be "in a hurry to reach conclusions from afar." Lindner stated, "Migration control is vital for Germany, but the AfD is a far-right party that stands against freedom and the business world."

A group of German lawmakers also reacted to Musk's comment. Dennis Radtke, a Member of the European Parliament from the center-right Christian Democratic Union, told the Handelsblatt newspaper, "It is threatening, disturbing, and unacceptable for an important figure in the future U.S. government to interfere in German elections." Radtke described Musk as "a threat to the democracy of the Western world."