An editor-in-chief of the conservative German newspaper Die Welt resigned following an article published on Saturday by Elon Musk, in which the billionaire believes that the far-right AfD party is “the last glimmer of hope” for the Germany.
“Today, a text by Elon Musk appeared in Welt am Sonntag. Yesterday, I submitted my resignation after printing,” said Eva Marie Kogel, responsible for editorial content, on her X account.
In his text, the billionaire of South African origin reaffirms in this column that “the Alternative for Germany (AfD) is the last glimmer of hope for this country”, which according to him finds itself “on the edge of the economic and cultural collapse.
Alice Weidel is an example
This close friend of Donald Trump praises the far-right party's “controlled immigration policy”, its economic objectives of “reducing taxes” and even “deregulating the market”.
The classification of the AfD as far-right “is clearly false”, he believes, arguing that its leader Alice Weidel “has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka”.
In the column, the richest man in the world is contradicted by the new editor-in-chief of Die Welt, Jan Philipp Burgard, for whom “even a genius can make a mistake”. The AfD “is a danger for our values and our economy”, affirms the journalist, recalling that another leader of the party, Björn Höcke, “has been condemned several times for having used a banned Nazi slogan”.
Die Welt belongs to the Axel Springer press group, the most influential in Germany, which also includes the tabloid Bild, the country's most widely read.
“Messenger for autocrats and their friends”
This cross-post follows a controversial tweet published on December 20 by Elon Musk, in which he already decreed that “only the AfD” could “save Germany”.
>> Read about it: Elon Musk's support for the German far right creates unease
In addition to the resignation of Eva Marie Kogel, Elon Musk's pro-AfD column once again sparked outraged reactions. The Association of German Journalists (DJV) protested in particular against the “election advertising” permitted by the editorial staff of Die Welt. “The German media must not allow themselves to be manipulated as the mouthpiece of autocrats and their friends,” criticizes its leader.
“We must not allow the Elon Musks of this world, the Chinese state or the Russian troll factories to undermine our democracies in Europe,” criticized Andreas Audretsch, campaign director of the Greens.
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