On a wet evening in Suhl, in the former East Germany, a smattering of youthful faces were among hundreds lining up to hear from an unlikely idol - Björn Höcke, one of the most controversial figures in the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Musk has emerged as a fervent supporter of Alternative for Germany, a far-right, anti-immigrant party that is polling in second place ahead of Germany's parliamentary election.

Germany holds its snap national election on Sunday following the collapse of Olaf Scholz's three-way coalition, and the coalition that emerges will face huge challenges, from reviving a flagging economy to forging a foreign policy amid the unpredictability of a new U.

The Alternative for Germany still has pariah status among other major political parties in a country where far-right politics has long carried a stigma because of the Nazi past.

Germans will head to the polls Sunday looking for leadership at a deeply uncertain time, but all eyes will be trained on a party likely to finish a distant second.