Germany’s government accused US billionaire Elon Musk on Monday of interfering in its upcoming February election after he threw his support behind the far-right party, Alternative for Germany (AfD) in X posts and an opinion piece published by the newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

German leaders accused Musk, who claimed that AfD is the only party which can “save” Germany, of trying to “influence the federal election” as the country heads towards snap elections amid political turmoil next month.

So what happened and what does it all mean?

Why has Germany called snap elections?

Since 2013, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) has governed Germany, which is Europe’s largest economy, leading different coalition governments.

However, the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz of the SPD, lost a confidence vote in parliament on December 16.

The vote, tabled by Scholz himself apparently in a bid to trigger an early election, came after the collapse of the German governing coalition government headed by Scholz and SPD. The government was thrown into turmoil when Scholz fired Finance Minister Christian Lindner in November following months of disagreements over Germany’s budget.

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Analysts say Scholz fully expected to lose the vote but wanted to trigger earlier elections, which he sees as his party’s last chance to cling to any power. Before Monday’s vote, Scholz said an election would be an opportunity to set the country on a new course.

Following the vote of no confidence, the German parliament was dissolved by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier of SPD on Friday, and snap elections were called for February 23, 2025, seven months before parliamentary elections were originally scheduled to take place.

What is AfD?

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is considered to be a far-right populist party in Germany. It was founded in 2013 and was holding 76 seats out of the 733 seats in the German parliament, or Bundestag before dissolution.

AfD is a Eurosceptic party, which means it is critical of Germany’s integration into the European Union.

AfD is also openly critical of Islam and opposes mass immigration. The party opposed former German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s welcoming stance towards immigrants arriving from the Middle East and Africa. In 2015, under Merkel’s leadership, more than 1 million refugees arrived in Germany.

In September this year, AfD won a key election for the eight Landtag seats of the eastern state of Thuringia with 32.8 percent of the vote, marking the first state election win for a far-right party since World War II.

The AfD nominated party leader Alice Weidel as its candidate for chancellor in early December. The nomination is largely symbolic since the party is unlikely to win a majority. Once the Bundestag is elected, it votes for the chancellor. To become chancellor, a candidate needs to receive votes from more than half of the parliament.

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For the upcoming election, the latest polls place AfD in second place with support from 19 percent of the electorate as of December 28, according to Politico. In the first place, with 30 percent, is the conservative coalition comprising centre-right parties Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU).

The previous governing group, SPD, is in third place, with 17 percent support projected.

The mainstream parties have refused to work with AfD in government, but it is nevertheless projected to form the largest opposition in parliament following the upcoming elections.

What has Musk said about AfD?

On December 20, Musk posted on X, the social media platform he owns: “Only the AfD can save Germany.”

Musk, who has become a close aide to US President-eleTrumponald Tump, expanded on his support for the AfD in an opinion piece for Welt am Sonntag, a German Sunday newspaper. The paper is published by the Axel Springer media group, which also owns US-based political site, Politico.

Musk’s article was published online on Sunday. Translated, it reads: “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!”

He wrote that Germany is on “the brink of economic and cultural collapse” and “AfD can save Germany from becoming a shadow of its former self”.

Musk wrote that he had “significant investments” in Germany, which gave him the right to comment about the country.

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Saying that Germany’s traditional parties have failed in Germany, Musk wrote, “The AfD, even though it is described as far-right, represents a political realism that resonates with many Germans who feel their concerns are ignored by the establishment.”

Has Musk backed other right-wing figures?

Musk has openly backed other far-right figures recently, including Nigel Farage of the United Kingdom’s Reform party and Italy’s right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. On Thursday, Musk posted on X campaigning for the release of far-right UK activist Tommy Robinson.

Robinson was jailed for 18 months in October 2024 after he made false accusations against a Syrian refugee schoolboy.

Musk, who was born in South Africa but is also a naturalised US citizen, has also been known for getting involved in US politics and was a prominent part of Trump’s presidential campaign. Last month, Trump refuted claims that he had “ceded the presidency” to Musk.

How have Germans reacted?

“It is indeed the case that Elon Musk is trying to influence the federal election,” German government spokesperson Christiane Hoffmann said at a regular media briefing on Monday.

“After all, freedom of opinion also covers the greatest nonsense.”

Friedrich Merz, leader of the opposition Christian Democrats and the current favourite to be elected chancellor in the upcoming elections, described Musk’s words as “intrusive and pretentious” in an interview with German newspaper Funke Media Group.

“I cannot recall a comparable case of interference, in the history of Western democracies, in the election campaign of a friendly country,” Merz said.

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“In Elon Musk’s world, democracy and workers’ rights are obstacles to more profit,” Saskia Esken, co-leader of SPD told Reuters. “We say quite clearly: Our democracy is defensible and it cannot be bought.”

Shortly after Musk’s piece was published, Eva Marie Kogel, the opinions editor at Welt am Sonntag, announced her resignation on X.

“I always enjoyed heading the opinion section,” Kogel wrote in an X post on December 28. “Today an article by Elon Musk appeared in Welt am Sonntag. I handed in my resignation yesterday after it went to print.”