In connection with the personal attacks by American technology billionaire Elon Musk on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and other top German politicians, Scholz relies on calm.
“As social democrats, we have been used to the fact since the last century that there are wealthy media entrepreneurs who do not appreciate social democratic politics – and do not hide their opinions,” Scholz told the magazine “stern” (Saturday).
Of course, things are a little different these days as media companies and platforms now have global reach. “But there is nothing new in this matter. “You have to remain calm,” the German Chancellor continued. “I find it much more worrying than these kinds of insults that Musk supports a partly right-wing extremist party like the AfD, which preaches rapprochement with Putin’s Russia and wants to weaken transatlantic relations,” Scholz said.
“Musk can say whatever he wants”
Musk, who has been appointed special adviser by future US President Donald Trump, has made several disparaging comments about Scholz and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in recent weeks. After the attack in Magdeburg on December 20, he wrote about Scholz in his online service Musk also called Steinmeier an “anti-democratic tyrant.”
“The federal president is not an anti-democratic tyrant, and Germany is a strong and stable democracy – Musk can say whatever he wants,” Scholz further told “strict.” “In Germany it depends on the will of the citizens, not on the whimsical statements of a US billionaire,” he added.
Scholz did not want to invite Musk to the German chancellery. “I don’t believe in winning Mr. Musk’s favor. I like to leave that to others.”
Meet at the opening of the Tesla factory
He himself met the Tesla boss once in March 2022 at the opening of the electric car manufacturer’s factory in Brandenburg and spoke briefly. At the time, the AfD was taking action there against the location of the Tesla factory in Grünheide. A few months later, Musk contacted him again by phone with a personal matter. “It is no secret that Tesla was against government funding for e-charging stations in Germany,” Scholz said.
Musk justified his comments on German politics in a controversial guest article for the newspaper ‘Die Welt’ by saying he had made ‘significant investments in the German industrial and technological landscape’. Therefore, he “has the right (…) to speak openly about his political orientation.”
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
