Tech giant Elon Musk on Monday praised Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) party for performing extremely well in the just-conducted elections. In a survey conducted by state broadcaster ARD and survey firm Infratest Dimap, AfD secured 18-to-24-year-old voters’ backing at the same level as its overall vote. Only far-left party Die Linke fared better with 25 percent backing among young voters.
AfD achieved its best-ever election performance, coming in second with barely 21 percent of the votes in yesterday’s elections. The right-wing CDU-CSU coalition led with 28.6 percent.
Elon Musk, who has a reputation for making provocative remarks, used X (formerly known as Twitter) to post a tweet, saying, “Then it is only a matter of time before @AfD wins.”
“They can’t bar millions of voters. That is not democratic. The firewall must be dismantled—no functioning democracy has a firewall,” Weidel said.
Then it is only a matter of time before @AfD wins https://t.co/O8Ha8I2P4L
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 24, 2025
Musk’s Call to AfD Leadership
AfD co-leader Alice Weidel confirmed at a press conference that she had been congratulated by Musk. Weidel highlighted AfD’s success with young voters as an “indicator that we are the party of the future.” She also called on other parties to rethink their refusal to cooperate with the AfD.
Mainstream Political Responses
CDU-CSU block’s conservative leader Friedrich Merz, whose alliance led the elections, responded to AfD’s success by describing it as “the last warning” to Germany’s main parties.
“This is actually the final warning to the political parties of the democratic centre in Germany to reach common solutions,” Merz said at a press conference.
Even with its electoral victory, the anti-immigration AfD is still contentious. Some party branches have been deemed right-wing extremist by German security agencies. Most German voters still shun the party because of historical sensitivities associated with the nation’s Nazi past.
Musk’s support for the AfD is another twist in the political debate, as his increasing power in international politics continues to generate controversy.
