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In the midst of the effervescence caused by the public support shown by the American businessman Elon Musk for the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), the owner of SpaceX has returned to the charge with new statements, this time against the German president, Frank-Walter Stenmeier.
“Stenmeier is an anti-democratic tyrant! Shame on him!” Musk said in response to a post by an influencer close to the AfD party; the comment follows another one against German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, candidate for the head of the government, whom he called a “buffoon”.
According to the Deutsche Welle news agency, Steinmeier warned of possible manipulation in his country's elections during his speech on December 27, when he declared the dissolution of Parliament and called for elections on February 23, 2025.
“External influence is a danger to democracy, whether it is covert, as recently demonstrated in the elections in Romania, or open and obvious, as is currently being exercised with particular intensity on platform X,” he said at the time.
Musk's open support for the far-right party and his many offensive comments have sparked mixed reactions. SPD leader Lars Klingbeil accused the billionaire of repeatedly trying to "use his influence to influence the course of world politics."
SPD co-leader Saskia Esken told Reuters in an interview that there were “low-level attacks” against the German chancellor and president, which she said “shows their lack of respect for our democracy. Musk is disqualifying himself.”
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