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The world’s richest man, a key adviser to President-elect Donald J. Trump, is ridiculing his complaints against Germany’s extremist AfD party as Germany prepares for elections.
By Christopher F. Schuetze
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a close adviser to President-elect Donald J. Trump, shocked many in Germany last week by endorsing its far-right Alternative for Germany party, which is under surveillance by domestic intelligence for being extremist.
This week, Musk became even more concerned about the country’s snap elections, explaining in an op-ed why he believes the far-right party is the “last spark of hope” for Germany.
“Traditional parties have failed in Germany,” Musk wrote in comments posted online Saturday via Welt. “His policies have led to economic stagnation, social unrest and the erosion of national identity. »
Musk’s op-ed comes as Germany prepares for intense winter elections following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition in November. On Friday, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier announced the dissolution of Parliament and set February 23 as the date for new elections.
With four mainstream and three extremist parties on the left and right vying for seats in Parliament and government participation, polls are favoring the conservative Christian Democratic Union. However, the AfD, with its anti-immigrant platform, is polling in second place, with roughly 20 percent.
Musk’s comment was published in the Sunday edition of Welt, a conservative newspaper owned by the Axel Springer media group, which also owns Politico in the United States. Many of the newspaper’s journalists reportedly protested the publication of the comment. Eva Marie Kogel, who was once the newspaper’s opinion chief, resigned from her position after publication, she told X.
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