Elon Musk Peddles Political Influence Abroad, Endorsing Germany's Far-Right Party | rssama.com

BERLIN (AP) — Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk caused uproar aft backing Germany’s far-right statement successful a awesome newspaper up of cardinal parliamentary elections successful nan Western European country, starring to nan resignation of nan paper’s sentiment editor successful protest.

Germany is to ballot successful an early election connected Feb. 23 aft Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party governing conjugation collapsed past month successful a conflict complete really to revitalize nan country’s stagnant economy.

Musk’s impermanent sentiment portion for Welt americium Sonntag —a sister publication of POLITICO owned by nan Axel Springer Group — published successful German complete nan weekend, was nan second clip this month he supported nan Alternative for Germany, aliases AfD.

“The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is nan past spark of dream for this country,” Musk wrote successful his translated commentary.

He went connected to opportunity nan far-right statement “can lead nan state into a early wherever economical prosperity, taste integrity and technological invention are not conscionable wishes, but reality.”

The Tesla Motors CEO besides wrote that his investment successful Germany gave him nan correct to remark connected nan country’s condition.

The AfD is polling strongly, but its campaigner for nan apical job, Alice Weidel, has nary realistic chance of becoming chancellor because different parties garbage to activity pinch nan far-right party.

An state of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, nan exertion billionaire challenged successful his sentiment portion nan party’s nationalist image.

“The portrayal of nan AfD arsenic right-wing extremist is intelligibly false, considering that Alice Weidel, nan party’s leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound for illustration Hitler to you? Please!”

Musk’s commentary has led to a statement successful German media complete nan boundaries of free speech, pinch nan paper’s ain sentiment editor announcing her resignation, pointedly connected Musk’s societal media platform, X.

“I ever enjoyed starring nan sentiment conception of WELT and WAMS. Today an article by Elon Musk appeared successful Welt americium Sonntag. I handed successful my resignation yesterday aft it went to print,” Eva Marie Kogel wrote.

A captious article by nan early editor-in-chief of nan Welt group, Jan Philipp Burgard, accompanied Musk’s sentiment piece.

“Musk’s test is correct, but his therapeutic approach, that only nan AfD tin prevention Germany, is fatally wrong,” Burgard wrote.

Responding to a petition for remark from nan German Press Agency, dpa, nan existent editor-in-chief of nan Welt group, Ulf Poschardt, and Burgard — who is owed to return complete connected Jan. 1 — said successful a associated connection that nan chat complete Musk’s portion was “very insightful. Democracy and publicity thrive connected state of expression.”

“This will proceed to find nan compass of nan “world” successful nan future. We will create “Die Welt” moreover much decisively arsenic a forum for specified debates,” they wrote to dpa.