Elon Musk has long expressed his support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and a German government spokesman has accused the co-chair of the Donald Trump-backed Ministry of Government Efficiency (DOGE) of trying to interfere in the upcoming national elections on Monday.
Germany accuses DOGE co-chair Elon Musk of election interference:
German government spokesman Christiane Hoffmann said Musk had tried to influence the outcome of the upcoming national elections by supporting the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Musk made headlines over the weekend for his support of the controversial political party in an opinion piece in a German newspaper, drawing the ire of the country’s officials. The CEO of X (formerly Twitter) and Tesla founder claimed he had the right to support the AfD because of his business activities in the country, despite the fact that the party’s members have been labeled as suspected extremists by authorities. “Freedom of speech gives the right to say nonsense,” Hoffmann told reporters on Dec. 30.
Donald Trump seeks legal changes:
Musk has reportedly supported the party on his social media platform, and recently called current German Chancellor Olaf Scholz an “idiot.” U.S. Vice President-elect J.D. Vance has also mocked criticism of Musk for his support of the AfD, and Germany has been accused of meddling in the world’s politics by the world’s richest man over his past support for him and his new role as co-chair of the DOGE advisory ministry.
Musk and his crypto-friendly political partner, former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, will team up to change some of the outdated regulations in several federal agencies. “These two Americans will pave the way for the new administration to dismantle the government bureaucracy, remove redundant regulations, cut unnecessary expenses, and restructure federal agencies,” President-elect Trump said in November.
The reality TV star has also long vowed to enact crypto-friendly laws when he returns to the Oval Office next month. “We will have crypto regulations, but from now on they will be pro-crypto, not anti-crypto,” Trump said at the Bitcoin 2024 conference last summer. Trump helped his family launch crypto exchange World Liberty Financial, and Trump has reportedly tapped former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins to head the commission, replacing Gary Gensler as chairman in January.
Gensler, who announced his resignation last month, has faced significant criticism from the crypto community for his heavy-handed approach to enforcing laws on digital assets, and we will be watching how US laws and international relations evolve after Trump takes office on January 20.