Scholz dismisses Musk’s assertion that only a far-right party can ‘save’ Germany

BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Olaf Scholz has dismissed an assertion by Elon Musk that only a far-right party can “save Germany.” But the German leader said Friday that freedom of opinion “also goes for multibillionaires.” Germany is expected to vote in an early election on Feb. 23 after Scholz’s three-party governing coalition collapsed last month in a dispute over how to revitalize the country’s stagnant economy. Polls have shown the main center-right opposition bloc in the lead. The far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, is polling strongly but the country’s other parties refuse to work with it. In a post on his social network X early Friday, Musk wrote: “Only the AfD can save Germany.”