German Green party’s Chancellor candidate Robert Habeck has expressed concern over the alleged interference of billionaire Elon Musk in the German election campaign.
In an interview with the Spiegel, Habeck stated, “I am highly concerned about the transatlantic value partnership. Elon Musk, one of the closest advisors to Trump, is actively intervening in the German election to support the most eurosceptic party.”
Habeck was referring to a recent guest article by Musk in the Springer publication Welt am Sonntag, in which the entrepreneur expressed his support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
When asked to comment on the article, Habeck replied, “It’s devastating. The richest man in the world, who owns one of the most influential communication platforms, openly supports a party with right-wing extremist elements. [..] But I think he knows exactly what he’s doing. Like Trump, like the AfD, like the right-wing populists everywhere. We need to understand that they don’t care about truth and reality. And I’m worried about the USA. I don’t want to imagine a scenario where the oldest democracy in the world develops into a neofeudal system, a kind of wealth-based aristocracy, in which billionaires will be in government and use their influence to pursue their business interests.”
Musk had previously called Habeck a fool. Asked to respond, Habeck said, “I won’t just stand by and watch as authoritarian sentiment is made palatable.”
Habeck described the billionaire as a threat, saying he should leave Germany’s democracy alone. He warned that Musk’s combination of immense wealth, control of information and networks, and use of artificial intelligence, along with his willingness to ignore rules, posed a frontal attack on democracy.
Habeck also expressed the need for the European Union to strengthen its regulation of the network X and for Germany to increase its defense spending, saying it should be doubled. He added that he would not hesitate to serve in the military today, as an “aggressor like Putin” would exploit weakness.