The American entrepreneur Musk, who is close to the future President Donald Trump, wrote a debate article defending 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", wrote Musk and stated that "the description of AFD as right-wing extremist is false" with reference to the fact that party leader Alice Weidel has a female partner from Sri Lanka.
"Does that sound like Hitler to you?" Musk asked.
Unbridled Criticism
CDU party leader Friedrich Merz, whose party is leading the opinion polls ahead of the German election in February, is harsh in his unbridled criticism:
I cannot remember a similar case of interference in an election campaign in a friendly Western democracy, he says to the German media company Funke.
The debate editor of the respected newspaper Welt am Sonntag, 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.
Referring to Freedom of Speech
The current and incoming editor-in-chief of the newspaper defended the publication with reference to freedom of speech. Musk himself says that he has the right to participate in the domestic political debate since his car brand Tesla has a factory in Germany.
The daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung's columnist Matthias Alexander speculates that the owner, Springer Group, published the text because they do not want to make an enemy of Musk – the group has interests in the USA, including ownership of the media company Politico.
But, notes the newspaper, Elon Musk's future as a right-wing politician will be decided in the USA, not in Germany.
"In the end, it is not within German politics that will determine how far Musk's power reaches. The decisive battle will be fought in the USA", the newspaper writes on Sunday.
