US tech billionaire Elon Musk reaffirmed his support for Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in an op-ed published by the Welt am Sonntag newspaper on Saturday. This came after he posted on his social network X that “Only the AfD can save Germany.”
He wrote that the far-right Populist Party was “the last spark of hope for the country”, which he claimed was on the verge of “economic and cultural collapse” and that only it could revive the German economy and reverse the damage. Could have stopped. Recognition of identity through “controlled immigration policy”.
“To those who condemn the AfD as extremist, I say: Don’t let the label fool you,” Musk wrote. “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!”
In the article published in German, Musk also praised the AfD’s approach to regulation, taxes and market regulation.
Although it was published as an op-ed by the named World According to editor-in-chief Jan Philipp Burgard, the decision to print it was met with opposition. World editorial staff and led to the resignation of a senior editor sunday world,
storm of anger
Friedrich Merz, the center-right candidate for chancellor in Germany’s Feb. 23 legislative election, attacked Musk, calling the article unprecedented interference that was “intrusive and pretentious.”
The AfD currently gets 20% of the vote and is in second place behind Merz’s conservative coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU).
Lars Klingbiel, chairman of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), accused Musk of wanting to “plunge Germany into chaos” and compared him to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Both want to influence our elections and support the enemies of democracy, especially the AfD,” Klingbeil said.
The president of the DJV journalists’ association, Mika Bester, warned editorial offices not to allow themselves to play a significant role in the general election, but to handle guests’ contributions with caution.
“The German media must not allow themselves to be misused as mouthpieces for dictators and their friends,” he said.
Freedom of press or election campaign?
Can the press in Germany speak for or against political candidates before elections? The answer is yes, it is allowed in Germany, but this is an exception.
Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are enshrined in the Constitution. Article 5 of the Basic Law of Germany reads: “Everyone shall have the right to express and disseminate his opinions in speech, writing and pictures and to inform himself without hindrance from generally accessible sources. Freedom of the press And freedom of reporting and films shall be guaranteed. There shall be no censorship within the provisions of general laws, the protection of young persons and the right to personal dignity.”
For the first time in 2002 Financial Times Germany Voted for a particular party in a German election: He devoted an entire page marked as a comment to explaining to his readers why they should vote for the CDU, adding a second page explaining that How did they reach their decision?
Financial Times Germany, who died in 2012, had one child financial Times Like most newspapers in the United States and Britain, London also has a tradition of publishing advertisements.
In Germany, public broadcasters are obliged to adhere to the principles of objectivity, impartiality and diversity of opinion. However, this does not exclude the possibility of individuals expressing opinions in journalistic comments that could also be interpreted as electoral recommendations.
Who put Musk’s commentary in this? World,
It’s still unclear how Musk’s text ended up in Orthodoxy World The newspaper, which is owned by Springer Publishing Group. Springer CEO Matthias Döpfner has expressed admiration for Musk in the past, and is said to have personal contact with the billionaire.
Dofner repeatedly made headlines when internal chat messages and emails she sent to confidants became public, showing her criticizing her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.
Doefner also attempted to influence the reporting of Picture The newspaper favors the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) ahead of the last federal election in 2021. “Our last hope is the FDP,” Döfner reportedly wrote, and only if the Liberals became stronger could “the green-red disaster be avoided.” , warning of the SPD-Green coalition government.
More recently, Döpfner criticized journalism in Germany, saying that “elite quality media” was biased towards the AfD, suggesting that Musk’s decision to publish the op-ed was an attempt to normalize right-wing populist thinking in Germany. Can be seen as an effort.
daily newspaper World Established in April 1946 in post-war West Germany in the British occupation zone. Seven years later, publisher Axel Springer acquired the newspaper. Today, Springer Publishing Group is active in more than 40 countries and owns the Politico news sites. Springer exerts great influence on political debate in Germany, especially through its tabloids. Picture -Which is the most criticized newspaper by the German Press Council?
What’s in it for Elon Musk?
The richest man in the world appears to have his own economic interests in mind, first and foremost. In his op-ed, Musk praised the AfD for its plans to “reduce government overregulation, lower taxes, and deregulate the market.” Tesla’s plan in Brandenburg, outside Berlin, is the American maker’s first electric car factory in Europe and would benefit from such changes.
But Musk, with his 200 million online followers around the world, is seen as driving a global political agenda to boost right-wing forces. He reportedly pledged to donate €95 million in support of British right-wing populist Nigel Farage’s party.
He also contributed at least $250 million to the election campaign of US President-elect Donald Trump and has since been appointed co-chair of a department designed to cut government spending and restructure the federal government without clear oversight of elected legislators. Has been named chief.
In Germany, Musk’s support for the AfD could serve to open a door to far-right forces by increasing their visibility and legitimizing their narrative.
This article was originally written in German.
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