German government seeks to downplay Elon Musk’s backing of far-right party before election

The German government sought to downplay efforts by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk to back the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, party.

The German government on Monday sought to downplay efforts by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk to get involved in the country's general election campaign by again endorsing the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, party.

Musk caused uproar over the weekend after backing the AfD in an opinion piece in a major newspaper, leading to the resignation of the paper’s opinion editor in protest.

“Freedom of expression also includes the greatest nonsense," government spokesperson Christiane Hoffmann said, adding that she wouldn't comment further on Musk's statements.

She did, however, say that “it is indeed the case that Elon Musk is trying to influence the federal election through his statement."

In that context, Hoffmann also pointed out that the AfD is being monitored by Germany's domestic intelligence service on suspicion of being right-wing extremist and that it has already been recognised as such in some individual German states.

Germany is to vote in an early election on February 23 after Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party governing coalition collapsed last month in a dispute over how to revitalize the country’s stagnant economy.

Musk’s guest opinion piece for Welt am Sonntag published in German over the weekend, was the second time this month he had supported Alternative for Germany, or AfD.