US billionaire Elon Musk expressed support for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in an opinion piece for Welt am Sonntag, published online on Saturday. The commentary, which followed Musk’s recent claim on social media that “only the AfD can save Germany,” sparked significant backlash, leading to the resignation of the newspaper’s opinion section editor, Eva Marie Kogel.
In the piece, Musk challenged the portrayal of the AfD as right-wing extremists, pointing to the party’s leader, Alice Weidel, who has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka. “Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!” Musk wrote. Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has labeled the AfD a suspected extremist group since 2021.
Following the article’s publication, Kogel resigned, posting her resignation on social media. Despite the controversy, the newspaper’s management, including editor-in-chief designate Jan Philipp Burgard, defended the piece’s right to be published, citing freedom of expression. However, Burgard noted in a response that while Musk’s diagnosis of Germany’s issues was valid, his suggestion that the AfD was the solution was flawed.
Musk’s endorsement of the AfD comes amid rising support for the party in Germany, which is now second in opinion polls. As Germany heads toward elections in February after a government collapse, the AfD’s influence continues to grow, although mainstream parties have vowed to avoid working with them.
