US tech billionaire Elon Musk on Saturday reaffirmed his backing for Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in an op-ed published by the Welt am Sonntag newspaper. This came just days after he had posted on his social network X that "only the AfD can save Germany."

He wrote that the far-right populist party was "the last spark of hope for the country," which he claimed was teetering on the brink of "economic and cultural collapse," and that only it could revive the German economy and prevent a loss of identity through a "controlled immigration policy."

"To those who condemn the AfD as extremist, I say: don't let the label attached to it put you off," 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!"

In the article, published in German, Musk also praised the AfD's approach to regulation, taxes, and market deregulation.

Although it was published as an op-ed by designated Welt editor-in-chief Jan Philipp Burgard, the decision to print it was met with protests by Welt editorial staff and led to the resignation of a senior editor at Welt am Sonntag.

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Friedrich Merz, the center-right candidate for chancellor in Germany's February 23 legislative election, lashed out at Musk, calling the article unprecedented interference that was "intrusive and pretentious."

The AfD is currently polling at 20% and in second place behind Merz's conservative alliance of Christian Democratic Union........

© Deutsche Welle