Elon Musk has backed Germany’s right-wing Alternative for Germany party (AfD) in a guest opinion piece the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
The article, online, prompted the editor, at the top of the comments, to resign as a sign of protest.
In the article, Musk elaborated on his message on his social media platform X last week: “Only the AFD can save Germany. “
“The presentation of the AFD as a far-right is patently false, as Alice Weidel, the leader, has a same-sex wife from Sri Lanka.
“Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!”
He added: “The election for Germany is the last spark of hope for this country. “
Germany’s domestic intelligence has classified the AFD nationally as a suspected case of extremism since 2021.
Shortly after the article was published online, the editor-in-chief of the opinion section, Eva Marie Kogel, wrote on X that she had submitted her resignation, with a link to the comment.
However, the newspaper’s editor-in-chief designate Jan Philipp Burgard and Ulf Poschardt, who takes over as publisher on 1 January, told Reuters: “Democracy and journalism thrive on freedom of expression.
“This includes dealing with polarising positions and classifying them journalistically.”
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Under Musk’s comment, the newspaper a reaction from Burgard.
“Musk’s diagnosis is correct, but his therapeutic approach, that only the AfD can save Germany, is fatally false,” he wrote.
Burgard was referring to AFD’s preference for leaving the European Union and relations with Russia and China.
It occurs when the Germans vote on February 23 after the caus of a coalition directed through Foreign Minister Olaf Scholz.
The AfD is running second in opinion polls and might be able to thwart either a centre-right or centre-left majority.