BERLIN (Reuters) – U.S. billionaire Elon Musk came under fire from German government and opposition politicians on Sunday for an op-ed he wrote supporting the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD), which they called “intrusive” outside influence.
Musk’s support for the AfD, which will serve as an outside adviser to US President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, comes as Germans will vote on February 23 after the collapse of a coalition government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The comment published in German in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper, flagship of the Axel Springer media group, expands on a post by Musk on the social media platform X last week in which he wrote “only the AfD can save Germany” and praised the focus of the party. to regulation, taxes and market deregulation.
In response to the publication of his comment, the editor of the newspaper’s opinion section told X that she had resigned.
Friedrich Merz, leader of the Christian Democrats opposition and current favorite to succeed Scholz as chancellor, said in an interview with the Funke Media Group: “I cannot remember a comparable case of interference, in the history of Western democracies, in the election campaign. from a friendly country.”
Merz described the comment as “intrusive and pretentious.”
Saskia Esken, co-leader of Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), pledged fierce resistance to attempts by state actors, as well as the rich and influential, to influence German elections.
“In Elon Musk’s world, democracy and workers’ rights are obstacles to more profits,” Esken told Reuters. “We say it clearly: our democracy is defensible and cannot be bought.”
Welt’s designated editor-in-chief defended the decision to publish the commentary, saying democracy and journalism thrive on freedom of opinion, including polarizing positions.
The AfD is second in opinion polls and could thwart a center-right or center-left majority. Germany’s main, more centrist parties have pledged to avoid any support for the AfD at the national level.