The tech billionaire and close Trump ally has sent shockwaves through German politics by publicly endorsing the far-right Alternative to Germany party weeks before snap federal elections.
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00:00The German government has sought to downplay efforts by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk to
00:06get involved in the country's election campaign by repeatedly endorsing the far-right Alternative
00:11for Germany or AFD party.
00:15Government spokesperson Christiane Hoffmann said that freedom of expression also includes
00:19the greatest nonsense.
00:21In fact, Elon Musk is trying to influence the election through his involvement.
00:31I think it is good to point out again that a recommendation is made here for a party
00:42that is observed by the constitutional protection to be right-wing extremist under suspicion.
00:51Musk caused an uproar over the weekend after backing the AFD in a major German newspaper
00:56ahead of key parliamentary elections, leading to the resignation of the paper's opinion
01:00editor in protest.
01:04Germany is set to vote in an early election on February 23 after Chancellor Olaf Scholz's
01:08three-party governing coalition collapsed last month in a dispute over how to revitalise
01:14the country's stagnant economy.