Lars Klingbeil, co-leader of Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), told the Funke media group that Musk “is trying the same thing as Vladimir Putin”, the Russian president.
“They both want to influence our elections and support the AfD, which is hostile to democracy,” he said, accusing both Musk and Putin of “wanting Germany to be weakened and pushed into chaos”.
Klingbeil said more action was needed on the European level to restrict the political power of big social media platforms such as X.
Musk has repeatedly used X to attack Scholz personally, most recently in the wake of a deadly car-ramming attack on a Christmas market in the eastern city of Magdeburg on December 20.
The tech billionaire called Scholz an “incompetent fool” and said he “should resign immediately”.
ELECTION CAMPAIGN MEDDLING
Musk’s interventions in German politics have also been criticised by Scholz’s main rival, Friedrich Merz, the leader of the conservative opposition CDU/CSU.
Merz labelled Musk’s AfD endorsement “interfering and presumptuous” and said he could not remember “a comparable case of meddling in the election campaign of an allied country in the history of Western democracy”.
The AfD is in second place in the latest polls at 19 per cent, behind the CDU/CSU opposition at 32 per cent.
The SPD is headed for its worst-ever result at 16 per cent while its Green coalition partners are polling at 13 per cent.
