German leader is more worried about Musk’s backing of a far-right party than his insults

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stays calm against Elon Musk's criticism, expressing concern over Musk's support for far-right AfD party.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he's staying “cool” against critical personal comments made by Elon Musk but finds it worrying that the U.S. billionaire makes the effort to get involved in a general election by endorsing the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Scholz was reacting after Musk, a close ally to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, called the chancellor a “fool” after his coalition government collapsed in November and later backed the AfD in an opinion piece he wrote for a major newspaper in Germany.

Scholz, head of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), said in comments published on Saturday by the German magazine Stern that there is “nothing new” in criticism by “rich media entrepreneurs who do not appreciate social democratic politics and do not hold back with their opinions.”

“You have to stay cool,” Scholz told Stern.

“I find it much more worrying than such insults that Musk is supporting a party like the AfD, which is in parts right-wing extremist, which preaches rapprochement with Putin’s Russia and wants to weaken transatlantic relations,” Scholz said.

The AfD is monitored by Germany’s domestic intelligence service on suspicion of being right-wing extremist and has already been recognized as such in some individual German states.

Germany will hold an early parliamentary electionon Feb. 23 after Scholz’s thee-party coalition collapsed in November in a dispute over how to revitalize the country’s stagnant economy.