Elon Musk, a close adviser to Donald Trump, showed support for Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in an opinion piece published online on Saturday (December 28), by the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. 

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The piece, which expanded on comments Musk had made earlier on social media, led to the resignation of the paper’s commentary editor, Eva Marie Kogel.

Also read: ‘I will go to war,’ Musk turns on MAGA over H-1B; far-right Loomer claims her X account ‘censored’

Last week, Musk posted on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, that "only the AfD can save Germany." His comments were widely criticised, with the German government dismissing them as lacking sound political judgment. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach called Musk’s actions “undignified and problematic,” suggesting they could amount to election interference.

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In the opinion piece, written in German, Musk wrote, "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!"

After the article was published, Kogel announced her resignation via a post on X. “I always enjoyed heading the opinion department at Welt and Wams. Today a text by Elon Musk appeared in Welt am Sonntag. Yesterday I submitted my resignation after printing,” she wrote, alongside a link to Musk’s article.

Also read: Elon Musk's 'problematic' post on German politics sparks accusations of interference

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'Musk’s diagnosis is correct, but...'

Responding to the controversy, Jan Philipp Burgard, the incoming editor-in-chief of Welt, and Ulf Poschardt, who is set to take over as publisher on 1 January, told Reuters, “Democracy and journalism thrive on freedom of expression. This includes dealing with polarising positions and classifying them journalistically.”

In the same edition of the newspaper, Burgard published a response to Elon Musk’s piece. “Musk’s diagnosis is correct, but his therapeutic approach, that only the AfD can save Germany, is fatally false,” he wrote.

The AfD, known for its strong anti-immigration stance, has been classified as a suspected extremist organisation by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency since 2021. The party has called for mass deportations from Germany and championed for anti-immigration policies, like Donald Trump during his presidency in the United States.

This move comes ahead of Germany’s federal election on 23 February. While the AfD is ranking second on polls, mainstream centrist parties have vowed not to collaborate with them at the national level.

(With inputs from agencies)