BERLIN (AP) — The German government sought to downplay on Monday the efforts of tech entrepreneur Elon Musk to get involved in the general election campaign of the country by once again supporting the far-right party Alternative for Germany, or AfD.
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Musk caused a stir over the weekend after expressing support for AfD in an opinion article in a major newspaper, which led to the resignation of the newspaper's opinion editor in protest.
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"Freedom of speech also includes the biggest nonsense," said government spokesperson Christiane Hoffmann, adding that she will not make any further comments on Musk's statements.
However, he emphasized that "it is certainly the case that Elon Musk is trying to influence the federal election through his statement."
In that context, Hoffmann also pointed out that AfD is being monitored by Germany's internal intelligence service on suspicion of being right-wing extremist and has already been recognized as such in some individual German states.
Germany will hold an early election on February 23 after Chancellor Olaf Scholz's ruling coalition of three parties collapsed last month in a dispute over how to revitalize the country's stagnant economy.
Musk's opinion article for Welt am Sonntag published in German over the weekend was the second time this month that he supported AfD.
"The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is the last spark of hope for this country," Musk wrote in his translated comment.
He went on to say that the far-right party "can lead the country towards a future where economic prosperity, cultural integrity, and technological innovation are not just wishes, but reality."
The CEO of Tesla Motors also wrote that his investment in Germany gave him the right to comment on the country's condition.
AfD is getting good results in the polls, but their candidate for the highest position, Alice Weidel, does not have realistic chances of becoming chancellor because other parties refuse to work with the far-right party.
The technology billionaire and ally of the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, challenged the public image of the party in his opinion article.
"The portrayal of AfD as a far-right extremist party 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!" wrote.
Musk's comment has sparked a debate in the German media about the limits of freedom of speech, with the newspaper's own opinion editor announcing her resignation, notably on Musk's social network, X.
"I always enjoyed leading the opinion section of WELT and WAMS. Today an article by Elon Musk appeared in Welt am Sonntag. I submitted my resignation yesterday after it was printed," wrote Eva Marie Kogel.
The newspaper was criticized by politicians and other media for giving Musk, a foreigner, a platform.
Musk’s opinion article in Welt am Sonntag was accompanied by a critical article from the future editor-in-chief of the Welt group, Jan Philipp Burgard, who wrote that while some of Musk’s diagnoses of Germany’s problems may be correct, “his therapeutic approach, that only the AfD can save Germany, is fatally incorrect.”