POSTMODERN FASCISM
Musk’s backing of far-right AfD party creates uproar in Germany ahead of key elections
By — Associated Press
By — Associated Press
Dec 29, 2024
BERLIN (AP) — Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk caused uproar after backing Germany’s far-right party in a major newspaper ahead of key parliamentary elections in the Western European country, leading to the resignation of the paper’s opinion editor in protest.
Germany is to vote in an early election on Feb. 23 after Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party governing coalition collapsed last month in a dispute over how to revitalize the country’s stagnant economy.
Musk’s guest opinion piece for Welt am Sonntag —a sister publication of POLITICO owned by the Axel Springer Group — published in German over the weekend, was the second time this month he supported the Alternative for Germany, or AfD.
“The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is the last spark of hope for this country,” Musk wrote in his translated commentary.
WATCH: What to know about Germany’s far-right politics and protests against its rise
He went on to say the far-right party “can lead the country into a future where economic prosperity, cultural integrity and technological innovation are not just wishes, but reality.”
The Tesla Motors CEO also wrote that his investment in Germany gave him the right to comment on the country’s condition.
The AfD is polling strongly, but its candidate for the top job, Alice Weidel, has no realistic chance of becoming chancellor because other parties refuse to work with the far-right party.
An ally of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, the technology billionaire challenged in his opinion piece the party’s public image.
“The portrayal of the AfD as right-wing extremist is clearly false, considering that Alice Weidel, the party’s leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!”
Musk’s commentary has led to a debate in German media over the boundaries of free speech, with the paper’s own opinion editor announcing her resignation, pointedly on Musk’s social media platform, X.
“I always enjoyed leading the opinion section of WELT and WAMS. Today an article by Elon Musk appeared in Welt am Sonntag. I handed in my resignation yesterday after it went to print,” Eva Marie Kogel wrote.
A critical article by the future editor-in-chief of the Welt group, Jan Philipp Burgard, accompanied Musk’s opinion piece.
“Musk’s diagnosis is correct, but his therapeutic approach, that only the AfD can save Germany, is fatally wrong,” Burgard wrote.
Responding to a request for comment from the German Press Agency, dpa, the current editor-in-chief of the Welt group, Ulf Poschardt, and Burgard — who is due to take over on Jan. 1 — said in a joint statement that the discussion over Musk’s piece was “very insightful. Democracy and journalism thrive on freedom of expression.”
“This will continue to determine the compass of the “world” in the future. We will develop “Die Welt” even more decisively as a forum for such debates,” they wrote to dpa.
BERLIN (AP) — Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk caused uproar after backing Germany’s far-right party in a major newspaper ahead of key parliamentary elections in the Western European country, leading to the resignation of the paper’s opinion editor in protest.
Germany is to vote in an early election on Feb. 23 after Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party governing coalition collapsed last month in a dispute over how to revitalize the country’s stagnant economy.
Musk’s guest opinion piece for Welt am Sonntag —a sister publication of POLITICO owned by the Axel Springer Group — published in German over the weekend, was the second time this month he supported the Alternative for Germany, or AfD.
“The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is the last spark of hope for this country,” Musk wrote in his translated commentary.
WATCH: What to know about Germany’s far-right politics and protests against its rise
He went on to say the far-right party “can lead the country into a future where economic prosperity, cultural integrity and technological innovation are not just wishes, but reality.”
The Tesla Motors CEO also wrote that his investment in Germany gave him the right to comment on the country’s condition.
The AfD is polling strongly, but its candidate for the top job, Alice Weidel, has no realistic chance of becoming chancellor because other parties refuse to work with the far-right party.
An ally of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, the technology billionaire challenged in his opinion piece the party’s public image.
“The portrayal of the AfD as right-wing extremist is clearly false, considering that Alice Weidel, the party’s leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!”
Musk’s commentary has led to a debate in German media over the boundaries of free speech, with the paper’s own opinion editor announcing her resignation, pointedly on Musk’s social media platform, X.
“I always enjoyed leading the opinion section of WELT and WAMS. Today an article by Elon Musk appeared in Welt am Sonntag. I handed in my resignation yesterday after it went to print,” Eva Marie Kogel wrote.
A critical article by the future editor-in-chief of the Welt group, Jan Philipp Burgard, accompanied Musk’s opinion piece.
“Musk’s diagnosis is correct, but his therapeutic approach, that only the AfD can save Germany, is fatally wrong,” Burgard wrote.
Responding to a request for comment from the German Press Agency, dpa, the current editor-in-chief of the Welt group, Ulf Poschardt, and Burgard — who is due to take over on Jan. 1 — said in a joint statement that the discussion over Musk’s piece was “very insightful. Democracy and journalism thrive on freedom of expression.”
“This will continue to determine the compass of the “world” in the future. We will develop “Die Welt” even more decisively as a forum for such debates,” they wrote to dpa.
German chancellor candidate Merz slams Musk over AfD stance
After Tesla CEO Elon Musk praised the AfD in an article published by a German daily, the leading candidate for chancellor, Friedrich Merz, hit back, decrying Musk's interference as "intrusive and pretentious."
A senior German politician dismissed Elon Musk's public support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as unprecedented interference, labeling it "intrusive and pretentious."
Friedrich Merz, the center-right candidate for chancellor in Germany's February 23 legislative election, lashed out at the Tesla CEO on Sunday, a day after Musk used an op-ed to describe the populist party as the "last spark of hope for this country."
In the article published in German, Musk also praised the AfD's approach to regulation, taxes and market deregulation.
The remarks have been fiercely criticized and a senior editor at Welt am Sonntag, the newspaper that published Musk's commentary, resigned in protest.
The AFD is currently polling second behind Merz' conservative alliance — the same group that Angela Merkel led until 2021.
What did Merz say?
"I cannot recall, in the history of Western democracies, that there has been a comparable case of interference in the electoral campaign of a friendly country," Merz, the head of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, told the Funke media group.
Merz said: "Imagine for a brief moment, the — justified — reaction of Americans to a comparable article by a prominent German businessman in the New York Times backing an outsider in the US presidential election campaign."
He added that Tesla's first gigafactory in Europe — built east of Berlin — would not have been approved if the far-right party was in power, "because it was the AfD that put up the most fierce resistance to this plant."
Musk has insisted he has a legitimate interest in German politics because of the investments the electric carmaker has made.
German democracy 'cannot be bought'
Saskia Esken, co-leader of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD), also called out interference in the German election by the world's richest man.
"In Elon Musk's world, democracy and workers' rights are obstacles to more profit," Esken told the Reuters news agency. "We say quite clearly: Our democracy is defensible and it cannot be bought."
Another SPD lawmaker, Matthias Miersch, told the Handelsblatt business daily that it was "shameful and dangerous" that the Springer publishing house — which owns Welt am Sonntag — gave Musk "an official platform to promote the AfD."
German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach on Saturday wrote on X: "The fact that political power is now increasingly easy to buy will cause great damage to democracy. If newspapers join in, they are digging their own graves."
mm/dj (dpa, EPD, Reuters)
After Tesla CEO Elon Musk praised the AfD in an article published by a German daily, the leading candidate for chancellor, Friedrich Merz, hit back, decrying Musk's interference as "intrusive and pretentious."
A senior German politician dismissed Elon Musk's public support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as unprecedented interference, labeling it "intrusive and pretentious."
Friedrich Merz, the center-right candidate for chancellor in Germany's February 23 legislative election, lashed out at the Tesla CEO on Sunday, a day after Musk used an op-ed to describe the populist party as the "last spark of hope for this country."
In the article published in German, Musk also praised the AfD's approach to regulation, taxes and market deregulation.
The remarks have been fiercely criticized and a senior editor at Welt am Sonntag, the newspaper that published Musk's commentary, resigned in protest.
The AFD is currently polling second behind Merz' conservative alliance — the same group that Angela Merkel led until 2021.
What did Merz say?
"I cannot recall, in the history of Western democracies, that there has been a comparable case of interference in the electoral campaign of a friendly country," Merz, the head of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, told the Funke media group.
Merz said: "Imagine for a brief moment, the — justified — reaction of Americans to a comparable article by a prominent German businessman in the New York Times backing an outsider in the US presidential election campaign."
He added that Tesla's first gigafactory in Europe — built east of Berlin — would not have been approved if the far-right party was in power, "because it was the AfD that put up the most fierce resistance to this plant."
Musk has insisted he has a legitimate interest in German politics because of the investments the electric carmaker has made.
Friedrich Merz is the leading candidate for chancellor after Scholz's coalition collapsed
Michael Kappeler/dpa/picture alliance
German democracy 'cannot be bought'
Saskia Esken, co-leader of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD), also called out interference in the German election by the world's richest man.
"In Elon Musk's world, democracy and workers' rights are obstacles to more profit," Esken told the Reuters news agency. "We say quite clearly: Our democracy is defensible and it cannot be bought."
Another SPD lawmaker, Matthias Miersch, told the Handelsblatt business daily that it was "shameful and dangerous" that the Springer publishing house — which owns Welt am Sonntag — gave Musk "an official platform to promote the AfD."
German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach on Saturday wrote on X: "The fact that political power is now increasingly easy to buy will cause great damage to democracy. If newspapers join in, they are digging their own graves."
mm/dj (dpa, EPD, Reuters)
Elon Musk backs AfD party in German newspaper opinion piece
EDITOR QUITS
December 28, 2024
US billionaire Elon Musk backed the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in a guest opinion piece for Germany’s Welt am Sonntag newspaper published online on Saturday, which prompted the commentary editor to resign in protest.
In the commentary, published in German by the flagship paper of the Axel Springer media group, Musk expanded on his post on social media platform X last week claiming that “only the AfD can save Germany”.
“The portrayal of the AfD as right-wing extremist is clearly false, considering that Alice Weidel, the party’s leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!” Musk said in the piece.
Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has classified the AfD at the national level as a suspected extremism case since 2021.
Shortly after the piece was published online, the editor of the opinion section, Eva Marie Kogel, wrote on X that she had submitted her resignation, with a link to the commentary.
“Democracy and journalism thrive on freedom of expression. This includes dealing with polarising positions and classifying them journalistically,” the newspaper’s editor-in-chief designate Jan Philipp Burgard and Ulf Poschardt, who takes over as publisher on January 1, told Reuters.
They said discussion about Musk’s piece, which had around 340 comments several hours after it was published, was “very revealing.” Underneath Musk’s commentary, the newspaper published a response by Burgard.
“Musk’s diagnosis is correct, but his therapeutic approach, that only the AfD can save Germany, is fatally false,” he wrote, referencing the AfD’s desire to leave the European Union and seek rapprochement with Russia as well as appease China.
The AfD backing from Musk, who also defended his right to weigh in on German politics due to his “significant investments,” comes as Germans are set to vote on February 23 after a coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz collapsed.
The AfD is running second in opinion polls and might be able to thwart either a centre-right or centre-left majority, but Germany’s mainstream, more centrist parties have pledged to shun any support from the AfD at the national level.
US billionaire Elon Musk backed the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in a guest opinion piece for Germany’s Welt am Sonntag newspaper published online on Saturday, which prompted the commentary editor to resign in protest.
In the commentary, published in German by the flagship paper of the Axel Springer media group, Musk expanded on his post on social media platform X last week claiming that “only the AfD can save Germany”.
“The portrayal of the AfD as right-wing extremist is clearly false, considering that Alice Weidel, the party’s leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!” Musk said in the piece.
Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has classified the AfD at the national level as a suspected extremism case since 2021.
Shortly after the piece was published online, the editor of the opinion section, Eva Marie Kogel, wrote on X that she had submitted her resignation, with a link to the commentary.
“Democracy and journalism thrive on freedom of expression. This includes dealing with polarising positions and classifying them journalistically,” the newspaper’s editor-in-chief designate Jan Philipp Burgard and Ulf Poschardt, who takes over as publisher on January 1, told Reuters.
They said discussion about Musk’s piece, which had around 340 comments several hours after it was published, was “very revealing.” Underneath Musk’s commentary, the newspaper published a response by Burgard.
“Musk’s diagnosis is correct, but his therapeutic approach, that only the AfD can save Germany, is fatally false,” he wrote, referencing the AfD’s desire to leave the European Union and seek rapprochement with Russia as well as appease China.
The AfD backing from Musk, who also defended his right to weigh in on German politics due to his “significant investments,” comes as Germans are set to vote on February 23 after a coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz collapsed.
The AfD is running second in opinion polls and might be able to thwart either a centre-right or centre-left majority, but Germany’s mainstream, more centrist parties have pledged to shun any support from the AfD at the national level.
DW
December 28, 2024
German authorities say the AfD is far-right extremist and endangers German democracy. According to the US tech billionaire said such ideas about Germany's AfD are "clearly false."
Tech billionaire Elon Musk on Saturday restated his backing for Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), calling the party the "last spark of hope" for the country, in an op-ed published by the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
His remarks triggered anger among German politicians, with the country seven weeks away from a snap federal election.
Shortly after the piece went online, the editor of the opinion section, Eva Marie Kogel, wrote on X that she had submitted her resignation, with a link to the commentary.
What did Elon Musk say?
Musk used his commentary to expand on his post on X last week claiming that "only [the] AfD can save Germany." In the editorial, he said the far-right party was the "last spark of hope" for the country.
"The portrayal of the AfD as right-wing extremist is clearly false, considering that Alice Weidel, the party's leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!" Musk said in the piece.
His remarks triggered anger among German politicians, with the country seven weeks away from a snap federal election.
Shortly after the piece went online, the editor of the opinion section, Eva Marie Kogel, wrote on X that she had submitted her resignation, with a link to the commentary.
What did Elon Musk say?
Musk used his commentary to expand on his post on X last week claiming that "only [the] AfD can save Germany." In the editorial, he said the far-right party was the "last spark of hope" for the country.
"The portrayal of the AfD as right-wing extremist is clearly false, considering that Alice Weidel, the party's leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!" Musk said in the piece.
In 2021, Germany's domestic intelligence agency classified the AfD at the national level as a suspected extremist organization.
Musk went on to claim that the AfD adopts strong positions on issues relating to economic recovery, energy supply and migration control.
"The AfD, even though it is described as far-right, represents a political realism that resonates with many Germans who feel that their concerns are ignored by the establishment. It addresses the problems of the moment — without the political correctness that often obscures the truth," the tech billionaire continued.
Musk also said the AfD was "committed to a controlled immigration policy that gives priority to integration and the preservation of German culture and security. This is not about xenophobia, but about ensuring that Germany does not lose its identity in the pursuit of globalization."
Welt am Sonntag reporters shoot back at Musk op-ed
The future editor-in-chief of the Welt group, Jan Philipp Burgard, contradicted the billionaire's statements in his own op-ed, posted next to Musk's.
Burgard said: "Musk's diagnosis is correct, but his therapeutic approach, that only the AfD can save Germany, is fatally wrong."
Other Welt journalists also posted their disapproval publicly on X.
Musk's comments seen as timed for snap election
Musk's backing of the AfD has sent shockwaves through Berlin, with some lawmakers this week accusing the SpaceX chief of interfering in German politics.
On Saturday, former health minister and a lawmaker for the center-right CDU party, Jens Spahn, wrote on X:
"Elon Musk says, look beyond the labels of the AfD. Now, let's do it then: The AfD wants to leave NATO, reactivate Nord Stream 2, and is anti-US, pro-Putin and pro-Russia. Is that what the USA wants? A Germany that turns towards Russia and away from the USA? The AfD wants to leave the Eurozone, our by far largest trading partner. We conduct ~40% of our trade within Eurozone. Without the Euro and the EU, the German economy would completely collapse."
Spahn said the AfD had also been against the construction of the Tesla factory in Grünheide.
Break-up of ruling coalition triggers early elections
Germany is set for a snap election on February 23 after the coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz collapsed last month.
The three parties in the coalition had disagreed for more than a year on major policy issues, including the 2025 budget.
The AfD is now running second in opinion polls with around 19% support, behind the conservative CDU/CSU alliance with more than 30%.
However, Germany's mainstream parties have all ruled out working with AfD at the national level.
mm/dj (AFP, DPA)
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