The German government on Monday sought to undermine tech entrepreneur Elon Musk’s efforts to join the country’s general election campaign by again endorsing the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, party.
Musk sparked an uproar over the weekend after endorsing the AfD in an opinion article in a major newspaper, prompting the paper’s opinion editor to resign in protest.
Government spokesman Christian Hofmann said, “Freedom of expression includes even the most blatant nonsense.” She said she would not comment further on Musk’s statements.
However, he added that “it is indeed the case that Elon Musk is trying to influence the federal election through his statements.”
In that context, Hoffmann also pointed out that the AfD is being monitored by Germany’s domestic intelligence service on suspicion of being right-wing extremists and is already recognized in some individual German states.
Germany is scheduled to vote in an early election on Feb. 23 following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party ruling coalition last month in a dispute over how to revive the country’s stagnant economy.
Excerpt for Musk’s guest opinion sunday world Published in German over the weekend, it was the second time this month he endorsed the Alternative for Germany, or AfD.
“Alternative for Germany (AfD) is the last spark of hope for this country,” Musk wrote in his translated remarks.
He further said that the far-right party “can lead the country to a future where economic prosperity, cultural integrity and technological innovation are not just wishes but reality.”
The Tesla Motors CEO also wrote that his investment in Germany gives him the right to comment on the situation in the country.
The AfD is polling strongly, but its candidate for the top job, Alice Weidel, has no real chance of becoming chancellor because other parties refuse to work with the far-right party.
The technology billionaire, an ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, challenged the party’s public image in his opinion.
“It is clearly wrong to portray the AfD as right-wing extremists, given that party leader Alice Weidel has a lesbian partner from Sri Lanka! Does this sound like Hitler to you? Please!”
Musk’s comments have sparked debate in the German media over the limits of freedom of expression, with the newspaper’s own opinion editor announcing his resignation on Musk’s social media platform, X.
“I always enjoyed leading the opinion section of WELT and WAMS. Today an article by Elon Musk appeared sunday worldEva Marie Kogel wrote, I submitted my resignation yesterday after this was published.
The newspaper was attacked by politicians and other media for offering a platform to Musk, a foreign national.
Welt am Sonntag also included a critical article by the future editor-in-chief along with Musk’s opinion. jumping hives group, Jan Philipp Burghardt, who wrote that while some of Musk’s diagnoses about Germany’s problems may be correct, “his therapeutic view, that only the AfD can save Germany, is fatally wrong.”