Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was also pleased to see the Alternative for Germany’s vote share growing.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk congratulated Germany’s far-right leader Alice Weidel, despite her loss to the conservative alliance in Sunday’s election.
The influential adviser to United States President Donald Trump reposted a celebratory message to the Alternative for Germany (AfD) leader from Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, after Weidel’s party pulled in 21 percent of the vote in the snap election.
Orbán, who met Weidel during a Budapest visit less than two weeks before the election, congratulated her for doubling the AfD’s share of the vote compared to the 2021 election. “The people of Germany voted for change in immense numbers,” the prime minister wrote on X, adding: “Good luck and God bless Germany!”
“Indeed, congratulations Alice Weidel,” Musk reposted the tweet, adding: “At this rate of growth, AfD will be the majority party by the next election.”
Musk had sought to boost Weidel’s campaign, hosting a live conversation with her on his social media platform X, repeatedly endorsing the AfD and speaking at a rally for the far-right party.
Before the election, Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz said Musk should face consequences for interfering in the German election campaign.
“What happened in this election campaign cannot go unchallenged. It can be a political response. It can be a legal response. I want to analyze this calmly after this election campaign,” Merz said.
