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Can the richest man on earth Elon Musk bring the far right AFD party to government in Germany?

 

 

 Alice Weidel delivering a speech. Source: AFD handle

 

It is no longer news that the collapse of the Ampel Coalition, which headed the government of Germany led to a vote of no confidence for Olaf Scholz and his party SPD, resulting in an early election scheduled for February 23.

 

According to many polls, the upcoming election favors Fredrich Merz, the leader of the opposition party CDU to become the next Chancellor. However, the current Chancellor Olaf Scholz believes he stands an even better chance, considering the reforms and progress he has brought in the last three years in many sectors, including immigration, where foreigners living in Germany can now become German citizens after 5 years if they meet certain guidelines—a policy and now law that opposition parties, including the far right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), have promised to change if elected.

 

As co-leader and now candidate of the AfD, Alice Weidel and her party recorded electoral victories in recent regional elections for the first time in decades and have gained momentum going into the general election next year. However, most parties have vowed not to work with them even if they win because of the party's stance on many issues.

 

With the recent support AFD got from Elon Musk, its chances look even brighter as the next election draws nearer, On his verified X (formerly twitter) handle Musk wrote "AFD is the only hope for Germany", which is a reiteration to the one he had earlier put out which says " In the US elections this year, President Trump won because the people wanted change. My reommendation to the people of Germany is that you must vote for change. Voting AFD is simply the sensible and common sense move". 

 

Source: Elon Musk X handle

 

On Janaury 9th, he and AFD candidate Alice Wandel held a conversation on X space where many topics were discussed, questions answered, a move aimed at boosting even more support for the party. The meeting which was called conversation saw about 200, 000 live particpants and has risen to 11 million listeners after few days on X platform. 

 

 

In the 70-minute live-streamed conversation on X which many have said was not convincing, the discussion was occasionally hindered by language misunderstandings and included several misleading claims. Musk asserted that theft in California was legal, while Weidel claimed that Adolf Hitler was a communist. Amidst laughter at each other's jokes, they also talked about Germany's energy supply, the benefits of nuclear power, immigration, and the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

 

Musk expressed confidence that Trump would quickly end the ongoing wars, while Weidel criticized Germany's management over the past two decades. Both agreed that the bureaucratic burden for companies wanting to expand in Germany is too high, something Musk has already experienced with his Tesla Gigafactory near Berlin. However, he admitted that both the state and federal governments have been very supportive of the factory.

 

Both spent much of the conversation confirming each other's claims. The only minor disagreement arose at the beginning of the conversation. Weidel criticized the federal government's energy policy, particularly the Greens, who focus on renewable energy. Musk then stated that he believed in the benefits of renewable energy. Weidel then shifted her stance and spoke of the technological openness she was striving for. Both agreed that Germany should restart its nuclear power plants.

 

Musk praises AfD again as Germany's savior. The big question for Weidel, however, is whether the conversation will help her in the campaign for the Bundestag election on February 23. Although Musk reiterated his support for the party and emphasized that only the AfD could "save" Germany, political observers doubt that Weidel made a significant impression.

 

**NowSMITH and its contributors are not affiliated with any political party and do not belong to any. They report, analyze and tell stories and happenings across all spaces, including politics.