On Sunday, the German parliamentary elections took place, with a majority of seats going to right-wing candidates. The CSU, a Christian conservative group, secured the largest number of seats in the Bundestag, with 28.6% of the vote. However, it is without a doubt the second-place winners, the AfD (Alternative für Deutschland), a controversial far-right party, who have garnered the most attention this election cycle.

 

But they didn’t get there alone.

 

Founded in 2013, the AfD was a single-issue right-wing party advocating against German participation in the Eurozone. Then, by 2017 when the party won their first federal election, their platform had become largely centered around the nativist, anti-immigration policies that they are best known for today. The AfD is also steeped in fascist ideology; the party has repeatedly attempted to revive Nazi slogans and talking points.

 

And it is just this fascist edge that has drawn tech billionaire and wannabe global dictator Elon Musk to the AfD.

 

In June of 2024, Musk began tweeting favorably about the AfD, with the number of tweets increasing steadily throughout fall before his December 20 tweet, stating, “Only the AfD can save Germany,” after which Musk began to aggressively lobby in favor of the AfD, often reiterating his claim that they were the country’s “only hope.” Musk also interviewed the party’s co-leader, Alice Weidel, on X in the hope of using the platform to promote the party’s views to a global audience. This support also resulted in massively disproportionate interactions with the AfD on X.

 

One report for The Washington Post stated that “Musk’s sudden interest propelled the AfD and Weidel to receive many more views on X than all other major German political parties since the election was called on Dec. 16,” with his first post about the AfD garnering 62 million views.

 

According to the report, “Weidel’s number of followers on X has doubled since Musk started posting about the party,” which the authors follow with an attempt to placate concerns, as “a large share of her newly engaged followers do not appear to be German.” However, this is still deeply worrisome. These engagement statistics prove the continued fulfillment of one of Musk’s goals: X continues to be used as a globalised tool to promote and disseminate the right-wing views that he personally endorses.

 

It may be tempting to compartmentalise the current chaos of the American right as a cultural anomaly separate from the looming growth of the European right, but while there are obviously certain country-specific nuances, the distinctions are rapidly deteriorating. With the same actors moving across governments, it inevitably produces the same chaos everywhere.

 

To ignore this is an unsustainable and dangerous practice. Once the groundwork is laid for this level of interference, misinformation, and oligarchical hijacking of formerly stable global superpowers such as the U.S., tech CEOs will continue to use this blueprint in an increasingly efficient and dangerous manner in Europe. And this is exactly what we have seen as Musk turned his attention from the United States presidency to German parliament.

 

But this is only the beginning. Musk has developed a formula for election interference through massive donations and aggressive online promotion for his preferred candidates which will only continue to metastasise unless serious action is taken against him.

 

And he’s getting closer with every passing minute.

 

Musk has set his sights on Reform U.K. as a potential next project and is in talks to possibly donate up to $100 million to the party. There are, however, as with all his previous political investments, strings attached. The financial and social boosts given by Musk come with certain expectations and demands; for Reform U.K., this entails Musk’s recent pressure on the party to replace party leader Nigel Farage.

 

While the sentence “no more Nigel Farage” would typically inspire feelings of hope in most sane people, should Musk’s personal preferences actually lead to Reform selecting a new leader it would be a devastating indicator of just how extensive Musk’s reach has become.

 

Foreign election interference is such a commonly voiced concern in democratic proceedings, especially in the U.S., E.U., and U.K. Yet why is it that now that it is occurring right in front of us that we’re allowing it to happen?

 

The sharp criticisms lodged by ‘democratic nations’ against countries such as Russia regarding their oligarchic structure and rampant domestic and international election interference can no longer be taken seriously amidst increasingly murky political relationships with tech billionaires like Musk.

 

It requires a truly astounding naïveté to cuddle up to the Elon Musks of the world, cater to them, and allow them an unelected part in so-called democratic procedures, yet still believe that a country has actually retained even a scrap of democratic integrity.

 

The idea that the longstanding global strength of countries like the U.S. and Germany makes them indestructible is damningly hubristic. This is also what Musk is banking on. The reluctance to say no to big names with big checks is ushering in the end of fair elections and real representative government. But as long as governments continue to freeze up and hold their tongues, Musk’s influence in global politics will only continue to grow.

 

The left and right alike need to learn from America and Germany’s mistakes, and fast—your democracies might be at risk of deletion.∎

 

Words by Mary Lawrence Ware. Image courtesy of Free Malaysia Today.