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By Lilith Foster-Collins
News Reporter
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was staying "cool" in comments published by the German magazine Stern, after critical personal comments made by Elon Musk last year.
Why It Matters
Musk came under fire for backing the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in an opinion piece in a German newspaper in December.
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The AfD is a political party considered far-right which is currently monitored by Germany's domestic intelligence service on suspicion of being an extremist group and has already been recognized as such in some individual German states.
What To Know
Musk called the German chancellor a "fool" after his coalition government collapsed late last year.
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Scholz's thee-party alliance collapsed in November in a dispute over how to revitalize the country's stagnant economy.
Musk Backed the AfD
Musk later backed the AfD in an opinion piece he wrote for the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
Following publication, the paper's opinion editor, Eva Marie Kogel, resigned in protest.
Scholz said it was worrying that the U.S. billionaire made the effort to get involved in a general election and endorse a far right party.
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What People Are Saying
Musk wrote in his translated opinion piece for Welt am Sonntag "The Alternative for Germany is the last spark of hope for this country." The Tesla Motors CEO also wrote that his investment in Germany gave him the right to comment on the country's condition.
How Did the German Chancellor Respond?
Scholz told Stern there is "nothing new" in criticism by "rich media entrepreneurs who do not appreciate social democratic politics and do not hold back with their opinions."
"You have to stay cool." He continued: "I find it much more worrying than such insults that Musk is supporting a party like the AfD, which is in parts right-wing extremist, which preaches rapprochement with Putin's Russia and wants to weaken trans-Atlantic relations."
The vice chancellor and economy minister, Robert Habeck, also warned Musk against getting involved in Germany's politics. "Hands off our democracy, Mr. Musk!" Habeck said in an interview with the magazine Der Spiegel. "The combination of enormous wealth, control over information and networks, the use of artificial intelligence and the willingness to ignore rules is a frontal attack on our democracy," said Habeck, who is also the Green Party's candidate for chancellor.
What Happens Next
Germany will hold an early parliamentary election on Feb. 23
The AfD is polling strongly, but its candidate for the top job, Alice Weidel, has no realistic chance of becoming chancellor because other parties refuse to work with her far-right party.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
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