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full screen Tech billionaire Elon Musk creates debate in Germany after celebrating the far-right AFD. Photo: Christophe Petit-Tesson/Pool Via AP/TT
The political ripples in Germany after tech billionaire Elon Musk’s praise of the far-right party AFD are rolling heavy.
The opposition leader, conservative Friedrich Merz, calls Musk’s outburst “rude and arrogant”.
American entrepreneur Musk, who is close to President-elect Donald Trump, wrote a debate post defending the Alternative for Germany (AFD). The text, which was published in Welt am Sonntag, argued, among other things, that the xenophobic AFD is “the last spark of hope” for Germany.
“(The party) can lead the country into a future where economic prosperity, cultural integrity and technological innovation are not just wishes — but reality,” Musk wrote, stating that “the description of AFD as far-right is false,” citing party leader Alice Weidel has a female partner from Sri Lanka.
“Sounds like a Hitler to you?” asked Musk.
Unveiled criticism
CDU party leader Friedrich Merz, whose party is leading the opinion polls ahead of the German elections in February, is harsh in his unvarnished criticism:
– I cannot remember that there was a similar case of interference in an election campaign in a friendly country in the history of Western democracies, he says to the German media company Funke.
The debate editor of the respected newspaper Welt am Sonntag, which is owned by the Axel Springer group, resigned in protest against the publication.
“I submitted my resignation when the article went to print,” wrote editor Eva Marie Kogel.
Refers to freedom of expression
The current and incoming editor-in-chief of the newspaper defended the publication, citing freedom of speech. Musk himself says that he has the right to participate in the domestic political debate as his car brand Tesla has a factory in Germany.
The daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung’s columnist Matthias Alexander speculates that the owner, the Springer group, published the text because they do not want to befriend Musk – the group has interests in the US, including as the owner of the media company Politico.
But, the newspaper notes, Elon Musk’s future as a far-right politician will be decided in the United States, not in Germany.
“Ultimately, it is not within German politics that determines how far Musk’s power extends. The decisive battle will be fought in the United States,” writes the newspaper on Sunday.