Tech entrepreneur and close advisor to Donald Trump, Elon Musk, has taken a shocking new step in publicly supporting the far-right German political party Alternative for Germany (AfD). Musk published a guest opinion piece in the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, prompting the resignation of the editor of the opinion section in protest.
The piece, written in German, was published online on Saturday and in the print edition on Sunday in the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer media group.
Musk adopts a populist and personal tone to refute claims that the AfD is an extremist party, expanding on arguments he previously made on his social media platform X, where he stated last week that “only the AfD can save Germany.”
In translation, Musk wrote: “Portraying the AfD as a far-right extremist party is obviously inaccurate, given that Alice Weidel, the party’s leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!”
Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has classified the AfD as a case of suspected extremism at the national level since 2021.
Shortly after the online publication, Eva Marie Kogel, the editor of the opinion section, announced her resignation on X.
“I have always enjoyed leading the opinion department at Welt and WamS. Today, Elon Musk’s piece was published in Welt am Sonntag. Yesterday, I submitted my resignation after it went to print,” she wrote on December 28th.
Her post included a link to Musk’s opinion piece.
The AfD is known for its strong anti-immigration stance and, like the incoming United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump, advocates for mass deportations from Germany. Earlier in December, Musk not only endorsed the AfD but also saw the party’s hardline immigration policies resonate with future U.S. Vice President JD Vance.
Senior representatives of Welt Group spoke out on Saturday.
“Democracy and journalism thrive on freedom of expression. This includes engaging with polarizing opinions and providing journalistic context,” stated Jan Philipp Burgard, the future editor-in-chief of the newspaper, and Ulf Poschardt, who will take over as publisher on January 1st.
They added that the debate sparked by Musk’s article, which garnered around 340 comments within hours of publication, was “very revealing.”
Below Musk’s column, the newspaper published a response from Burgard.
“Musk’s diagnosis is accurate, but his approach – that only the AfD can save Germany – is fatally flawed,” Burgard wrote, referencing the AfD’s desire to leave the European Union (EU), align more closely with Russia, and appease China.
Musk and Weidel later shared the article link on X.
Musk’s support for the AfD, which he defended by citing his “significant investments” as justification for commenting on German politics, comes as Germany prepares for elections on February 23rd, following the collapse of the coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz in late autumn.
The AfD is currently polling second in public opinion surveys and could prevent the formation of a majority by either the center-right or center-left. However, Germany’s main centrist parties have pledged not to support the AfD at the national level, N1 writes.
