does not hold the kind of sway over German voters that recent hand-wringing would imply, the government of German Chancellor said on Monday.
“The normal people, the sensible people, the decent people are far in the majority in this country,” a spokesman said, a week after the government accused the tycoon of using his to try and promote the interests of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) ahead of in February.
“We act as if Mr Musk’s statements… could influence a country of 84 million people with untruths or half-truths or expressions of opinion. This is simply not the case,” he added.
On top of his , Musk called German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier The Tesla CEO has also announced plans to hold a livestream meeting with AfD leader Alice Weidel on Thursday.
Macron, Starmer also criticize Musk
Scholz was not the only European leader with strong words for Musk on Monday, with France’s commenting that “ten years ago, who could have imagined it if we had been told that the owner of one of the largest social networks in the world would support a new international reactionary movement and intervene directly in elections, including in Germany.”
At the same time, Macron said that France would remain an ally to the US under President-elect Donald Trump, to whom Musk is a staunch ally.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was also asked to react to comments from Musk, who has implied that Starmer did not do enough to go after child grooming circles when he was a prosecutor.
Musk has praised Tommy Robinson, one of the UK’s most extreme and well-known far-right agitators.
“Those that are spreading lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible, they’re not interested in victims, they’re interested in themselves,” Starmer told a press conference, without mentioning Musk by name.
“I’m prepared to call out this for what it is. We’ve seen this playbook many times: the whipping up of intimidation and threats of violence, hoping that the media will amplify it.”
es/wd (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
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