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🇦🇹 Austria /Elections & Politics

Musk congratulates AfD as FPÖ leader Kickl hails a “decisive mandate”

From Die Presse · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Elon Musk congratulated the AfD on its victory in Saxony-Anhalt, prompting the party’s lead candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, to offer cooperation if the AfD takes responsibility in the state.
  • FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl called the result a democratic rejection of Germany’s established parties, while Austria’s Greens leader Leonore Gewessler warned that the result showed “fire on the roof.”
  • The AfD’s success also exposed tensions among Italy’s centre-right parties over migration policy and the possible impact on returns from Germany to Italy.

Elon Musk congratulated Germany’s AfD after its election victory in Saxony-Anhalt, and the party quickly answered with an offer to work together. “Well done!” Musk wrote on his platform X in response to AfD leader Alice Weidel’s message celebrating lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund’s triumph.

Well done!

· Elon MuskMusk congratulated the AfD on X after its victory in Saxony-Anhalt.

Siegmund thanked Musk for his “support” and replied in English: “If we take responsibility here, I would very much welcome the opportunity for strong and constructive cooperation. Germany would then once again be a place worth investing in. Best regards from Saxony-Anhalt!”

The result also triggered contrasting reactions abroad. FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl called the AfD victory “a democratic decisive mandate from the sovereign that will be felt far beyond Germany.” He said voters had not only chosen the AfD, but had rejected the united front of the established parties and torn down the “undemocratic firewall” built against what he called the only patriotic force.

support

· Ulrich SiegmundSiegmund thanked Musk for backing the AfD and offered cooperation.

Austria’s Greens leader Leonore Gewessler took a sharply different view, warning that there was “fire on the roof.” She added that concern should not paralyze politicians and said it was not enough to point at the FPÖ or AfD. Politics, she argued, had to listen to people, take their concerns seriously and show that it could improve their lives.

If we take responsibility here, I would very much welcome the opportunity for strong and constructive cooperation. Germany would then once again be a place worth investing in. Best regards from Saxony-Anhalt!

· Ulrich SiegmundThe AfD’s lead candidate offered Musk cooperation if the party assumes responsibility in Saxony-Anhalt.

The AfD’s success also created tensions within Italy’s centre-right. Lega leader Matteo Salvini welcomed the result, while the party of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani reacted more cautiously. Concerns are growing in Meloni’s circle that the German result could affect migration policy, including pressure from Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU on returns to Italy of migrants who first arrived there and later travelled to Germany. The article also says Hungary’s former prime minister Viktor Orbán expressed satisfaction with the AfD victory, though the supplied text ends before detailing his reaction.

a democratic decisive mandate from the sovereign that will be felt far beyond Germany

· Herbert KicklThe FPÖ leader’s description of the AfD’s election victory.
About this summary

Originally published by Die Presse in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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