German Divide

The rise of the far-right political outfit, AfD, with a plank of anti-immigration was considered to be a fringe element reflecting continued economic disparity but was not in a position to threaten the national consensus. However, capturing power in two important provinces defies economic logic when, with growing prosperity, many are moving from western to the eastern parts. The difference in unemployment between the two regions is insignificant as faster economic growth has attracted massive investments from reputed brands like Tesla and Intel. The level of immigration in eastern Germany is lowest

- SUBRATA MUKHERJEE and SUSHILA RAMASWAMY

Elon Musk, the US tech billionaire, in an op-ed page article published in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper on 29 December, extended his support to Germany's far-right political outfit Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). This came after his post on his social network X that "only the AfD can save Germany".

He regarded the AfD as "the last spark of hope for the country experiencing 'economic and cultural collapse', for reviving the German economy and preventing a loss of identity through a "controlled immigration policy".

In the article written in German, he praised AfD's approach to reducing government regulation, lowering taxes and deregulating the market. The AfD is polling at 19 per cent, second to the centre-right alliance of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Bavaria's Christian Social Union (CSU), at about 30 per cent. The AfD is in a position to frustrate Germany's mainstream political alliances, be that of centre-right or centre-left. The latter have vowed not to seek support from AfD at the national level.

The German media was outraged by Musk's comments, perceiving it as unprecedented interference. Friedrich Merz, the CDU leader and a candidate for chancellor in Germany's legislative election slated on 23 February 2025, remarked "I can't remember a comparable case of interference in the election campaign of a friendly country in the history of the Western democracies". He described Musk's comments as "intrusive and pretentious".

Lars Klingbeil, chairman of the Social Democrats (SPD), blamed Musk for wanting to "plunge Germany into chaos" and compared him to Vladimir Putin, the Russian President. Saskia Esken, co-leader of Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD), commented, "In Elon Musk's world, democracy and workers' rights are obstacles to more profit. We say quite clearly: Our democracy is defensible and it cannot be bought". Mika Beuster, the chairman of the