American entrepreneur Elon Musk has expressed confidence that the right-wing party Alternative for Germany (AfD), which secured second place in the recent Bundestag elections, will be able to win the next elections.
Before the vote, Musk stated that AfD was Germany’s only hope. After the results were announced, he congratulated the party’s co-chair Alice Weidel and noted that, given its current growth trajectory, AfD could become the majority party in the future.
Earlier, Musk published an article in the German newspaper Welt, in which he claimed that only AfD could save the country from decline. The publication sparked widespread controversy: Welt’s head of opinion, Eva Marie Kogel, resigned, while the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz called the article an unprecedented interference in Germany’s elections. Nevertheless, Musk continued to support AfD, later hosting an online discussion with Alice Weidel.
In the snap Bundestag elections held on February 23, the CDU/CSU bloc emerged victorious with 28.6% of the vote. AfD secured second place with a record-high 20.8%. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) had their worst result in history, finishing third with 16.4%.
The new parliament also includes the Greens (11.6%), The Left (8.8%), and the Danish-Frisian minority party South Schleswig Voter Federation (SSW). However, Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice (BSW) and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) failed to pass the 5% threshold and did not enter parliament.
