Elon Musk subsidized the far-right Alternative for Germany party, known as AfD, in an op-ed published in a German newspaper on Saturday, taking a deeper look at foreign policy as the billionaire has a fixed place in the orbit of Trump.
Musk disputed characterizations of the AfD as “right-wing extremist,” citing the fact that the party’s leader, Alice Weidel, is gay, writing “Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!”
Musk penned the opinion piece in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper after writing on X last week that “only the AfD can save Germany,” sparking widespread backlash, with conservative writer and frequent Trump critic Bill Kristol accusing Musk of endorsing a “German neo-Nazi party.”
In the newspaper article, Musk accused Germany’s classical political parties of being “comfortable with mediocrity,” adding economic decline, and wrote that “the AfD can save Germany from becoming a shadow of itself. “
The Tesla founder—who has also expressed support for anti-immigrant political parties in the UK and Italy—said that he had the right to wade into German politics because he has business in the country, including a Tesla gigafactory factory in Brandenburg.
Commentary section editor Eva Marie Kogel resigned in protest after the piece was published, while the paper’s editor-in-chief designate, Philipp Bugard published a response that said “Musk’s diagnosis is correct, but his therapeutic approach, that only the AfD can save Germany, is fatally false.”
German internal intelligence classifies the AfD as suspected extremists and places the party under surveillance due to the potential threats it poses.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. , told CNN last week that Musk’s political perspectives carry significant weight given his closeness to Trump, warning that “what Elon Musk thinks tends to ultimately be what the president of the United States. ” And if the United States takes an official position in favor of neo-Nazis in Germany, it will surely be catastrophic. “
Vice President-elect JD Vance has also expressed support for the AfD, responding sarcastically to posts on X criticizing the party’s hardline immigration stance as dangerous, writing on Dec. 21 “It’s so dangerous for people to control their borders. So so dangerous. The dangerous level is off the charts.”
Musk wrote this article after the collapse of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition government earlier this month, prompting early elections scheduled for February 23. Musk’s article was published in a newspaper owned by the Axel Springer media group, which also owns Politico. is staunchly opposed to immigration and has been accused of employing Nazi and white supremacist rhetoric, including a crusade ad featuring a naked white woman approached through a dark-skinned man wearing an Arab scarf. and urging Europeans to “vote for the AfD, so that Europe will never be ‘Eurabia’. ” Musk, who has had a relationship with Trump since he won the November election and was named head of a newly created AfD, recently wrote in X earlier this month that the party’s anti-immigration policies “seem reasonable” and in June he He asked why the party is classified as far-right.
Elon Musk writes opinion piece in German newspaper in of far-right AfD party (The Guardian)
Elon Musk supports Germany’s extreme political right and delves into global politics (CNN)
Elon Musk backs AfD party in German newspaper opinion piece (Reuters)
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