Elon Musk helps AfD celebration in German newspaper opinion piece By Reuters

BERLIN (Reuters) – U.S. billionaire Elon Musk backed the Different for Germany (AfD) in an opinion piece for German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, revealed on-line on Saturday, that prompted the editor-in-chief to resign in protest.

Within the remark, revealed in German by the media group’s flagship newspaper Axel Springer, Musk expanded on his message on social media platform X final week, saying “solely the AfD can save Germany.”

“The portrayal of the AfD as right-wing extremist is clearly false, provided that Alice Weidel, the celebration’s chief, has a same-sex accomplice from Sri Lanka! Does this remind you of Hitler? Please !” » Musk stated within the article.

German home intelligence companies have categorized the AfD nationally as a suspected case of extremism since 2021.

Shortly after the article was revealed on-line, opinion editor Eva Marie Kogel wrote on X that she had resigned, with a hyperlink to the remark.

“Democracy and journalism thrive on freedom of expression. This implies tackling polarizing positions and classifying them journalistically,” Jan Philipp Burgard, the paper’s designated editor-in-chief, and Ulf Poschardt, instructed Reuters. who takes workplace as editor on January 1.

They stated the dialogue on Musk’s submit, which acquired about 340 feedback a number of hours after it was revealed, was “very revealing.”

Below Musk’s remark, the newspaper revealed a response from Burgard.

“Musk’s analysis is appropriate, however his therapeutic strategy, that solely the AfD can save Germany, is fatally improper,” he wrote, referring to the AfD’s need to go away the Union European and to hunt rapprochement with Russia and to appease China.

The AfD’s assist for Musk, who has additionally defended his proper to affect German politics by his “important investments”, comes as Germans are on account of vote on February 23 after the collapse of a coalition authorities led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The AfD comes second in opinion polls and might be able to thwart a center-right or center-left majority, however Germany’s principal, extra centrist events have pledged to keep away from any assist from the AfD at nationwide stage.