He might have played his part in helping to get Donald Trump elected as US president for the second time, but the latest election data coming out of Germany shows that Elon Musk might not be having the desired impact overseas.
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When is the election in Germany?
The Germans go to the polls at the end of February, following months of political upheaval. Amid the chaos of collapsing coalitions, it is expected that the far-right AfD party will be able to capitalise on the public scepticism.
Whatever happens, the organisation that critics have compared to ‘neo-Nazis’ are all but certain to improve substantially on their electoral performance from 2021. But is it possible that the AfD might just be running out of steam?
This time last year, they were polling at 24%. According to YouGov, they haven’t hit those heights again within the last 12 months. After dropping to 21% at the back end of 2024, public support has lagged further – and analyst Tom Parkin may know why…
Is Elon Musk helping or hindering the AfD?
After declaring his support for the AfD on X/Twitter, Elon Musk also wrote an opinion piece in their favour for a German magazine. Predictably, that caused something of a stir within the EU nation – but not in the way the tech billionaire would have hoped.
The fallout has been toxic. But, as Parkin points out, it has given other parties – including the CDU, SPD, and the Greens – a ‘powerful campaign focus’. Musk, it is said, failed to tap-in to any of economic or financial issues that appeal to AfD voters:
“An opinion piece from Elon Musk ran in German magazine Der Welt, endorsing the far-right AfD and resulting in strong push-back from other parties. Der Welt’s comment editor also quit shortly after.”
“Musk’s argument in favour of the AfD had little to do with the cost of living, and everything to do with racism and identity politics. While the AfD had nudged up to 21% by early January, it fell back to 19% in the poll published yesterday.” | Tom Parkin
The Elon Musk debate puts far-right ‘on the defence’
Following his interjections, Elon Musk has become a political topic of his own in Germany. And that’s not necessarily a good thing. As Parkin highlights, Scholz and other anti-AfD politicians are now positioning themselves as defenders of ‘democratic traditions’.
“As a result of this intervention, the current Chancellor – Olaf Scholz – has been handed a powerful campaign focus by Musk, and has continued to campaign against the US billionaire as a defender of German’s democratic traditions.” | Tom Parkin