Chancellor Olaf Scholz ally warns of worsening US-German ties over Musk attacks
The head of the co-ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD) parliamentary group, Rolf Muetzenich, accuses US business magnate of crossing ‘a border between friendly states’
BERLIN
A close ally of Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned that the recent verbal attacks by US billionaire Elon Musk's against President Frank-Walter Steinmeier could seriously strain German-American relations, media reports said Thursday.
The head of the co-ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD) parliamentary fraction , Rolf Mützenich, accused Musk of crossing “a border between friendly states.”
Musk who is set to serve as an advisor to US President-elect Donald Trump, wrote on his platform X on New Year's Eve: "Steinmeier is an anti-democratic tyrant. Shame on him.”
“The verbal attacks on the Federal President are therefore aimed at all citizens,” Mützenich told German newsweekly Der SPIEGEL.
The US business magnate had also insulted Scholz by calling him an “incompetent fool” in the wake of the recent deadly terror attack in the eastern city of Magdeburg.
On Monday, the German government accused Musk of attempting to influence the country's election campaign by reaffirming his support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
While he is free to express his opinion, “in fact, Elon Musk is trying to influence the federal election through his statements,” deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann said at a press briefing in Berlin.
Elections are decided by the voters when they vote and are a German matter, she stressed.
Musk, who also owns social media platform X, had written a guest editorial in the daily WELT newspaper voicing his support for the AfD.
Hoffmann said while “freedom of expression is a valuable asset,” one does not have to share his viewpoint.
She pointed out that Musk had suggested voting for a party that was being monitored by the country's domestic intelligence agency (Office for the Protection of the Constitution) as a potential right-wing extremist case.
On Dec. 20, Musk wrote on X that "only the AfD can save Germany."
The AfD is currently running second in nationwide surveys and might be able to thwart either a center-right or center-left majority.
However, Germany’s mainstream, more centrist parties have vowed to refuse to form a coalition with the AfD at the national level.
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