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German politicians have criticized media conglomerate Axel Springer for publishing an opinion piece by Elon Musk in praise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), as anger grows over the tech billionaire's growing support for civil rights groups in Europe.
Matthias Miersch, general secretary of the Social Democrats (SPD) of Germany, said it was “shameful and dangerous” that Axel Springer had given up. Musk stage by publishing his article in one of the newspapers, Welt am Sonntag.
“It is unacceptable that foreign billionaires try to influence our political situation and support parties that undermine our democratic values,” he told the Handelsblatt newspaper.
Musk's AfD piece comes less than two months before a snap election in Germany triggered by the collapse of Olaf Scholz's three-party coalition. Polls are four AfD in second place behind the center-right Christian Democrats, with Scholz's SPD following in third place.
Andreas Audretsch, a senior Green MP leading the party's election campaign, took to X to criticize the article.
“It destroys our democracy when Herr Musk, the Chinese state or the factories in Moscow subvert our democratic discourse,” he said. That's why people in the AfD love it so much.
Welt opinion editor Eva Marie Kogel announced over the weekend that she was resigning, expressing anger over the decision to publish a piece Musk produced in the newspaper's newsroom.
“Journalism lives on independence and integrity, Die Welt lives on its reputation,” said Mika Beuster, head of the DJV, the association of German journalists. “All that is thrown, with great noise, into the dustbin.”
Musk, a close adviser to US president-elect Donald Trump and a friend The chief executive of Axel Springer, Mathias Döpfner, used an op-ed article to praise the AfD, large parts of which have been designated as extremist by Germany's domestic intelligence and placed under surveillance. The party also advocated mass deportation of immigrants.
Musk described Germany as a place of economic and cultural collapse and said that the AfD is the “last hope” of the country, recommending policies to reduce market sales, cut taxes and reduce red tape, and oppose immigration. .
He also dismissed the idea that the AfD was “right-wing”, noting that Alice Weidel, Alice Weidel, has a same-sex relationship with a Sri Lankan woman. “Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!” she wrote.
Musk is heavily invested in Germany, where Tesla is building Europe's first gigafactory. But his plans to expand the factory, in Brandenburg, have run up against domestic opposition this year, including from AfD politicians in the government.
The publication of the article came less than a week after Musk retweeted a video of a German far-right activist, adding: “Only the AfD can save Germany.” Weidel replied: “Yes! You are absolutely right!”
The AfD is the latest European far-right party to win Musk's support.
Nigel Farage recently suggested that Musk could donate to Reform UK, telling the BBC that his group was in “ongoing negotiations” with the tech mogul after the pair met at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.
He also waded into the row between Farage and Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch, taking issue with Badenoch's tweets in which he claimed Reform UK had made up its membership figures.
Earlier this year, Musk praised Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, describing her as “a person who is more beautiful on the inside than she is on the outside” and “true, honest and thoughtful”. He responded by praising his “precious genius.”
Insiders at Axel Springer, which owns Politico, rejected criticism that, by publishing the article, they were giving a platform to Musk and the far right.
“He owns Twitter and with one tweet he can reach 200 million people,” said another. “Who is Welt to give him a platform? You are a stage. Better to publish this on our forum where we can protect it and cover it with our opinion. “