Elon Musk is trying to manipulate Germany’s federal elections: Expert

By Erdil Basay

BERLIN (AA) - US tech billionaire Elon Musk is attempting to manipulate Germany’s federal elections scheduled for February, an expert said Wednesday.

Referring to Musk’s remarks in support of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, political scientist Thomas Greven of Freie Universität Berlin said they can be seen in the scope of freedom of expression.

“It is very clear that he has no idea about German politics. He is a polarizing entrepreneur who also makes money by dividing societies and provoking people against each other," Greven said.

“We saw his insults against (German Chancellor) Olaf Scholz and (President) Frank-Walter Steinmeier. All of these are extremely ignorant. However, in principle, Elon Musk has the right to express his own opinion like everyone else in the world in a liberal democracy,” he added.

Greven also drew attention to Musk’s involvement in politics in the UK and US.

Nevertheless, if he escalates things further and supports the AfD financially, Germany's attitude towards Musk would change and it wouldn’t tolerate such meddling in the country’s politics, he added.