The traditional German Newspaper “WELT am Sonntag” has now published a commentary by tech billionaire Elon Musk in which the rightwing exremist party AfD is trivialized and described as Germany’s last hope. A senior editor then resigned.
According to information from Tagesspiegel and Medieninsider, the “Welt” editorial team believes it is unlikely that the matter did not have the blessing of WELT boss and media mogul Mathias Döpfner from the Springer conglomerate. Der Spiegel suspects that Döpfner even got the ball rolling and contacted Musk shortly before Christmas about it. The two men know each other.
What is the logic behind this? The activities of the Axel Springer media group were permitted by the American occupying forces after the Second World War and were essentially support for the mainstream conservative CDU/CSU, which also goes back to the US occupiers.
Döpfner is a regular guest at the Bilderberg conferences and is networked in other “transatlantic” organizations. The focus is on collaboration with the Republican Party. On June 12, 2019, the Springer company announced the conclusion of an agreement with the US investment company “Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.” (KKR). Former CIA director David H. Petraeus has been part of KKR’s management since 2013. The CIA not only directly promoted anti-communist media, but also promoted moderate socialism as a counter-model to Soviet communism. In an interview with The Nation, two former CIA officers claimed that Axel Springer had received 7 million USD from the CIA to support American geopolitical interests with his publishing house.
WELT and BILD also have very good contacts with the German secret services.
Elon Musk was very critical of Donald Trump and the MAGA movement, but toed the line late in the election cycle. There is currently a political dispute within the conservatives over work visas. More extreme MAGA influencers accuse Musk of having bought his way into the MAGA movement what feels like 5 minutes ago and of being too close to the Chinese because of the batteries for his Tesla vehicles.
What was Döpfner and Musk’s real plan with regard to the statements on the AfD? Döpfner is close to the US and the Republicans and the CDU/CSU. The AfD flirted with the Trump movement, but seems very pro-Russian. Musk is known for tolerating more radical ideas for strategic reasons if it benefits the Republicans; see the crazier postings that are rampant on X. The Republicans regularly wink at a few percent of radical voters in election campaigns because they are needed.
What are the advantages that Döpfner and Musk gain from the AfD commentary in WELT? The CDU/CSU competes with the AfD in the elections. If the AfD were banned, a certain proportion of voters would switch to the CDU/CSU. So why the trivialization of the AfD? This approach makes the most sense if US intelligence services now covertly exercise a high degree of control over the AfD.
A lot of incriminating information about the party has long been known to the public, and we also know how right-wing organizations have been infiltrated right up to the leadership levels throughout the history of the Federal Republic. The British services also got heavily involved and recruited the founder of the NPD, the noble Adolf von Thadden, as a source.
If Anglo intelligence agents approached AfD politicians, it is likely that a strategy of building sympathy was used. Regardless of whether they were CIA agents, MI6 or outside of official channels. AfD personnel often acted negligently, especially when it came to contacts with the Russians, which could bring with it incriminating facts that could theoretically be used by the Anglos. Normally, they do not simply make crude threats, but rather the agents present themselves as helpers who offer protection but want something in return. I have already stressed several years ago that not every Russia sympathizer is really a sympathizer, but that informants are deliberately set up and promoted by secret services. Russia is a closed system; that means you cannot send agents there under a disguise to recruit sources or steal information. You have to lure Russians in from the outside.
After the Second World War, the US secret service Counter Intelligence Corps built up the political landscape of the Federal Republic. Remaining Nazi networks were thoroughly tracked down. Figures like Flick were pardoned under High Commissioner John J. McCloy. During the Cold War, the US services kept some extremists on hand for (ultimately failed) projects like GLADIO. The Soviets, for their part, discreetly tried to recruit neo-Nazis and get them excited about the “Eurasia” project, as if Moscow were actually prepared to share power with Germans.
Musk said in WELT:
The portrayal of the AfD as right-wing extremist is clearly false. alsch, considering that Alice Weidel, the party’s leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you?”
Some of the highest NSDAP officials were gay and Lothar Machtan’s study of Hitler is the most convincing to date. In the course of an AfD scandal, Weidel admitted that she is unaware of the hidden networks behind the AfD and that some party members are “afraid”. It is known that the AfD has ousted and replaced party leaders on several occasions. It is also known that the AfD needs a bourgeois cover. This is all basic knowledge that Musk either does not have or ignores for strategic reasons.
“The AfD is committed to a controlled immigration policy that prioritizes integration and the preservation of German culture and security. This is not about xenophobia, but about ensuring that Germany does not lose its identity in the pursuit of globalization.”
The AfD has completely unnecessarily become entangled in a scandal that could lead to the party being banned: How it actually wants to design “remigration”, especially for people with a migration background who have German citizenship.
The various scandals make the AfD vulnerable to infiltration; not only by Western and Russian services, but also by left-wing circles. Some party officials even have a Stasi past and Putin himself headed spy rings in West Germany when he was stationed with the KGB in the GDR.
The party and its supporters are often illiterate when it comes to secret services. Most of the time they just recite standardized sentences and talking points, according to which the Office for the Protection of the Constitution is being used for political purposes.
