Elon Musk reiterates support for Germany’s hard right

Elon Musk has endorsed the hard-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in a newspaper opinion piece, prompting its opinion editor to resign in protest.

Elon Musk says the ‘portrayal of the AfD as right-wing extremist is clearly falses’. Picture: AFP

Elon Musk has endorsed the hard-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in a newspaper opinion piece, prompting its opinion editor to resign in protest.

In Welt am Sonntag, the tech billionaire explained why he had posted on his social media platform X last week that “only the AfD can save Germany”.

“The portrayal of the AfD as right-wing extremist is clearly false, considering that Alice ­Weidel, the party’s leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka. Does that sound like Hitler to you? Come on!” he wrote

Ms Weidel, 45, has served as joint AfD leader since June 2022. She is in a civil partnership with Sarah Bossard, a film producer originally from Sri Lanka who lives in Switzerland. Ms Weidel has extensively criticised Germany’s immigration policies and despite her own sexuality has stated her opposition to same-sex marriage in favour of protecting the ­“traditional family”.

Shortly after the opinion piece was published, Eva Marie Kogel, editor of the paper’s opinion section, wrote that she had submitted her resignation.

Jan Philipp Burgard, the newspaper’s editor-in-chief designate, and Ulf Poschardt, the ­incoming publisher, appeared to criticise the resignation in a joint statement. “Democracy and journalism thrive on freedom of expression. This includes dealing with polarising positions and classifying them journalistically,” the pair told Reuters.

The AfD was founded in 2013 as a Eurosceptic group, but as refugee numbers rose after 2015, it ­developed a general anti-­immig­ration platform. Germany’s domestic intelligence service has previously classified the party as “suspected” hard-right extremist.

In his article Mr Musk ­defended the party’s policies. He said Germany had “opened its borders to a very large number of migrants. Although this was done with ­humanitarian intentions, it has led to significant cultural and ­social tensions”.

“This is not about xenophobia, but about ensuring that Germany does not lose its identity in the pursuit of globalisation,” he said. He also took aim at its mainstream politicians, claiming the “traditional parties have failed in Germany”.

Their policies “have led to economic stagnation, social unrest” and an erosion of national identity.

“The AfD, even though it is ­described as far right, represents a political realism that resonates with many Germans who feel their concerns are ignored by the establishment,” Mr Musk wrote.

Immigration was again at the top of the national agenda this month after a car was driven into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg in the centre of the country, allegedly by a 50-year-old anti-Islam ­activist. Five ­people were killed and more than 200 injured.

The Sunday Times