Germany’s Far-Right AfD Thanks Elon Musk After Historic Election Win

(Michael Kappeler/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)

Germany’s right-wing populist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) thanked billionaire Elon Musk for his support Sunday after scoring a historic election victory, taking the moment to call for future “cooperation.”

The AfD stormed to first place in Saxony-Anhalt with 43.8% of the vote, more than doubling its support from five years ago and leaving Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union a distant second on 17.2%.

The result nevertheless left the AfD just short of the absolute majority it had sought. Final returns gave the party 39 lawmakers in the 83-seat state parliament, three seats shy of governing alone.

The victory brings a far-right party closer to leading a German government than at any point in the country’s post-World War II democratic history.

Still, the party’s route to power is uncertain. The AfD has ruled out entering a coalition, while Germany’s mainstream parties have maintained their so-called firewall against cooperating with it.

When Musk, a prominent supporter of the party who insisted only it could “save” Germany, congratulated AfD’s co-leader Alice Weidel on the result – writing “well done” in German in an X post – Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD’s lead candidate in the state, thanked the billionaire in reply.

“Thank you, @elonmusk, for your support and for your clear and highly important perspective on the political developments of our time — including here in Germany,” he wrote, adding: “If we take responsibility here, I would very much welcome the opportunity for strong and constructive cooperation. Germany would once again be a place worth investing in.”

President Donald Trump also amplified the result, posting a screenshot of the election projection to Truth Social without comment.

(Screengrab via Truth Social)

Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev subsequently shared a screenshot of Trump’s post while hailing a “historic win for the pragmatic AfD”.

The AfD has pushed for stronger ties to the U.S. and Russia while calling for Germany to end support for Ukraine and for Ukrainians to lose refugee status.

The party has also risen on its anti-migration stance and supports right-wing positions like banning of LGBTQ+ flags in schools.

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