The chancellor of Germany took a swipe at tech billionaire Elon Musk during his end-of-year speech, asking his countrymen not to be swayed by the South African entrepreneur.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz made the remark during his New Year’s address on Tuesday, in which he reflected on the February 2025 elections.
“You, the citizens, decide what happens in Germany,” Scholz told the public. He added that the nation’s future “will not be decided by the owners of social media channels” but instead “will be up to the vast majority of reasonable and decent people.”
The allusion to social media ownership is a clear reference to Musk, who was recently accused by the German government of meddling in its national politics after writing an opinion piece in support of the right-wing Alternative for Germany party.
Musk has previously called Scholz a “fool” on social media.
“In our debates, one can be forgiven for sometimes thinking the more extreme an opinion is, the more attention it will garner,” Scholz said in his Tuesday address. “What I wish for is that we will not let ourselves be played off each other.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Despite the bad blood, the chancellor’s office has affirmed that Musk is free to offer his perspective on German politics.
“After all, freedom of opinion also covers the greatest nonsense,” Scholz spokeswoman Christiane Hoffman said.
