BERLIN (Reuters) – American billionaire Elon Musk drew criticism from German government and opposition politicians on Sunday for an opinion article he wrote in support of the right-wing Alternative for Germany party, which they considered an “interventionist” foreign influence.
The AfD's support comes from Musk, who is set to serve US President-elect Donald Trump's administration as an external advisor, as Germans are scheduled to vote on February 23 following the collapse of the coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The German-language commentary in Welt am Sonntag, the flagship of Axel Springer's media group, expanded on a post by Musk on the social media platform For regulation, taxation and market liberalization.
In response to the publication of his comment, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper's opinion section on the X website said that she had resigned.
“I cannot remember a similar case of interference, in the history of Western democracies, in Germany’s election campaign,” Friedrich Merz, leader of the opposition Christian Democrats and the current candidate to succeed Scholz as chancellor, said in an interview with the Funke Media Group. Friendly country.”
Mears called the comment “intrusive and arrogant.”
Saskia Eskin, co-leader of Schulz's Social Democratic Party, pledged fierce resistance to attempts by government agencies as well as the wealthy and influential to influence the German elections.
“In Elon Musk’s world, democracy and workers’ rights are obstacles to making more profits,” Eskin told Reuters. “We say very clearly: our democracy can be defended and cannot be bought.”
Welt's appointed editor-in-chief defended the decision to publish the commentary, saying that democracy and journalism thrive on freedom of opinion, including polarizing positions.
The Alternative for Germany party is ranked second in opinion polls and may be able to thwart a center-right or center-left majority. Germany's more centrist parties have pledged to avoid any support from the AfD at the national level.
