"BERLIN, Dec 28 (Reuters) - U.S. billionaire Elon Musk supported Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) in an opinion piece for Germany's Welt am Sonntag newspaper, causing the commentary editor to step down in protest.
Musk, in the article published by the Axel Springer media group's flagship paper in German and later shared online, further elaborated on his recent social media post claiming 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? Please!" Musk stated in the piece.
Since 2021, Germany's domestic intelligence agency has classified the AfD nationally as a suspected case of extremism.
Shortly after the online publication of Musk's piece, opinion editor Eva Marie Kogel announced her resignation on X, linking to the commentary.
"Democracy and journalism thrive on freedom of expression. This includes dealing with polarizing positions and classifying them journalistically," said Jan Philipp Burgard, the newspaper's editor-in-chief designate, and Ulf Poschardt, who will be the new publisher as of Jan. 1, in response to Musk's article.
They noted that the discussion around Musk's piece, which had drawn approximately 340 comments within hours of appearing, was "very telling."
Alongside Musk's commentary, the newspaper featured a rebuttal by Burgard.
"Musk's diagnosis is accurate, but his prescription, that only the AfD can save Germany, is fundamentally flawed," he remarked, alluding to the AfD's aims to exit the European Union, foster closer ties with Russia, and engage with China.
Musk's endorsement of the AfD, backed by his argument of having "substantial investments" entitling him to weigh in on German politics, as elections approach on Feb. 23 following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition government.
Polls rank the AfD second and suggest it could impede a majority for either center-right or center-left alliances. Nevertheless, Germany's mainstream, more centrist parties have vowed to disavow any cooperation with the AfD at the national level."