He is a close ally of conservative U.S. President Donald Trump and has, much to the ire of Scholz, spent the past few weeks boosting the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party ahead of a national snap election on Feb. 23. The AfD is currently riding high in polls ahead of the vote.

I find it worrying that a man with enormous access to social media and large financial resources is so directly involved in the internal affairs of other countries,” said Norway's prime minister Monday.