Published January 04,2025
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned Elon Musk’s “erratic” feedback and his open assist for the extreme-right AfD get together in an interview revealed Saturday.
The world’s wealthiest man — who owns social media platform X — has in a string of posts attacked a number of European leaders and ruffled feathers on the continent.
Asked about interference by Musk — who final month referred to as Scholz an “incompetent fool” earlier than calling the German president an “anti-democratic tyrant”, the chancellor advised Stern journal it was essential “to keep calm” forward of Germany’s snap elections on February 23.
“In Germany, everything is proceeding according to the wishes of our citizens and not the erratic comments of an American billionaire,” he advised the journal in an interview.
“The German president is not an anti-democratic tyrant and Germany is a strong and stable democracy — never mind what Mr Musk says.”
Scholz mentioned public assist from the ever-more-powerful Musk for the far-right AfD was “much more problematic than these insults”.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is polling in second place behind the conservatives, “advocates closer links with Putin’s Russia and wants to weaken trans-Atlantic ties”, Scholz mentioned.
The extreme-right get together acknowledged this week it was in common contact with the entourage of South African-born Musk, who’s due on January 9 to host a dialog on X with AfD chief Alice Weidel.
Asked if he personally wished to debate with the 53-year-old proprietor of Tesla and SpaceX, Scholz mentioned: “I don’t think it necessary to seek Mr Musk’s favours. I’ll leave that to others.”
The chancellor mentioned he had met Musk in March 2022 on the opening of a Tesla manufacturing unit within the state of Brandenburg “at a time when the local branch of AfD was protesting against it”.
Germany shouldn’t be Musk’s solely goal in Europe, the place many governments are already grappling with the rise of populism and the far-right.
This week he referred to as for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to be eliminated and urged the discharge from jail of extremist UK agitator Tommy Robinson.
He held talks in December with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a number one determine on the unconventional proper; referred to as the European Union undemocratic; and branded as dictators judges who annulled Romania’s presidential election amid suspicions of Russian interference.
Musk is an enthusiastic supporter of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the nation’s most right-wing chief since 1945.
Musk’s political initiatives are intimately linked to his financial pursuits, consultants recommend.
For Musk and Trump, “democracy, debate, disagreement, state welfare systems all get in the way of business”, mentioned Ilan Kapoor, a professor at Toronto’s York University recognized for his vital analysis on neoliberalism.
Source: www.anews.com.tr