[Skybird]

Originally Posted by mapuc

Had to translate this danish article and post it here in our GER politics thread.

I presume he is very much wrong in his statement

https://ekstrabladet-dk.translate.go..._x_tr_pto=wapp

Markus

Maybe not as wrong as people want him to be. He attacked the certain sort of Zeitgeist we have over here and that is used to be on an ideological partying frenzy without being put into quesiton and now reacts with the to-be-excpected hysteria. Mind you, a poll riun earlier this year found that over 90% of German journalists and staff at newspapers confessed to vote green-left. The poltical left is used to have an uncritical court reporting not putting left idelogy and woke demands into question. Its not by chance only that the best newspaper there still is, is no German but a Swiss one, the Zürcher Neue Zeitung NZZ. Personally I would rate none of the German mainstream media papers with a schoolnote higher than C - and most are not even that. German newspaper an dmedia do not keep their distance to political actors and parties, and are usually just the non-AfD mouthpiece of the Bundestag parties. With the state television channels 1 and 2 (ARD and ZDF) its even much, much worse. I think of GDR propaganda television thatg we watched for comedy when I see their news porgrams. The GDR TV via-air-broadcasting was not to be recieved everywhere in Germany, but living in West Berlin, we obviously could.

[TE] “Germany has become too comfortable in mediocrity - it's time for bold change, and the AfD is the only party that opens up this path.” Tech billionaire Elon Musk is able to express his views on why he is backing the AfD in an unusually broad manner in Die Welt. The fact that the newspaper “dares more Musk” leads to an internal conflict in which the head of opinion resigns and employees publicly express their displeasure on X.
The world has done nothing wrong. Nevertheless, the media hullabaloo, both from the editorial office and on social media, suggests that the Springer newspaper itself recommended voting for the AfD. This is piquant at a time when a new Correctiv investigation has been eagerly picked up by the masses - and is already being haunted by ARD as “Potsdam 2.0”.

A few days ago, Christian Lindner tested out what you are still allowed to say in public. Margarethe Schreinemakers once said “Autobahn doesn't work at all” to Eva Hermann in a highly acclaimed talk show on Johannes B. Kerner when she pointed out that certain things from the Nazi era are completely normal, even if they have a certain background. Harald Schmidt, in turn, used this as a template for a “Nazometer” that lit up when certain terms were mentioned. Of course, there was also a dispute about this.

The Autobahn is now called Elon Musk and the Nazometer is an AfD-O-Meter. Who invites whom and where, how close they are to the AfD and the words they use say something. Because perhaps they also use the AfD and its figureheads. Remember the “Occident” discussion, when the Catholic Church under Cardinal Marx suddenly distanced itself from a term whose originator was the Church itself. Because the PEGIDA group referred to it.

So there are numerous, tedious back stories to the current case, in which nothing more has happened than tech mogul Elon Musk explaining in an article in one of the country's most important newspapers why he posted on X that only the AfD could save Germany. Die Welt must therefore allow itself to be criticized for letting the other side have its say and explaining what it means. That's a good move. Because “traditional” media suffer from the speed of X. What Welt and Co. can provide, however, is a deeper analysis. On X, people want to be informed quickly: too long, didn't read (tldr) is what they call it in Internet German. The weekly newspaper is a good choice.

And what Musk is saying goes much deeper than mere populist partisanship for a German right-wing party. The international war for freedom of expression is also being fought in Germany; it is a battlefield that was announced here at TE shortly after the election victory. The AfD is therefore the logical choice for Musk, because:

“It addresses the current problems - without the political correctness that often obscures the truth. The portrayal of the AfD as far-right is clearly false when you consider that Alice Weidel, the party's leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!”

Musk summarizes this under one of five points, in this case “political realism”, which speaks for the AfD, because the other parties have “simply failed”. Their policies have led to economic stagnation, social unrest and an erosion of national identity.

Musk elaborates. “The German economy, once the engine of Europe, is now drowning in bureaucracy and oppressive regulations. The AfD has understood that economic freedom is not only desirable, but necessary.” It stands for de-regulation, and Germany needs a party that not only talks about growth, but also takes measures to avert state intervention.

Another point: immigration and national identity: Germany has opened its borders to a very large number of migrants. “Although this was done with humanitarian intentions, it led to significant cultural and social tensions,” said Musk. The AfD advocates a controlled immigration policy; it is not about xenophobia, but about ensuring that Germany does not lose itself in the pursuit of globalization.

Musk explicitly addresses Germany's disastrous energy policy. “Germany's decision to phase out nuclear power and instead rely heavily on coal and imported gas, as well as unstable wind and solar power, without the battery storage needed to stabilize the grid, has left the country vulnerable, especially in terms of power supply disruptions.” What Musk writes could have been written by any TE author.

Finally, in the subheading “Innovation and the future”, Musk emphasizes that it promotes critical thinking instead of indoctrination, an attitude that is in line with the basic principle of his own corporate ethos. “To those who condemn the AfD as extremist, I say: don't be put off by the label attached to it. Take a look at their policies, economic plans and efforts to preserve culture,” emphasizes the Tesla boss.

Die Welt was aware that such words contain explosive material. It therefore added a counter-commentary to this article. Its author is Jan Philipp Burgard, long-time USA correspondent for ARD and now editor-in-chief at Die Welt. Burgard was also responsible for the duel between Björn Höcke (AfD) and Mario Voigt (CDU). So Die Welt pulls out the sharpest caliber to restrict Musk's commentary. This is actually what you would expect from good journalism: The debate of free speech for the best argument. After all, you don't have to share Elon Musk's positions.

For many, however, this exchange of blows was apparently too free. There had already been a crackling in the editorial office: apparently the Musk text was to be prevented. The situation then exploded on Saturday. Eva Maria Kogel, head of the opinion section, resigned after the pre-publication. Ironically, she announced the move on Musk's X platform after leaving it unused for three years. Other Welt journalists are also protesting, whether publicly or indirectly.

Medieninsider reports that there was hope within the editorial team that “after days of discussions in heated conferences and crisis meetings between the editors-in-chief and editorial representatives, it would not appear after all”. In a letter obtained by the magazine, she quotes that the editorial team had warned against an “election advertisement for the AfD disguised as a guest article”. This is remarkable, because in pro & con debates, party politicians or people close to a party always make a point for the political movement they sympathize with. If Elon Musk had campaigned for the Greens in the Taz newspaper because of their love of electric cars, not a whiff would have gone through the press.

The suspicion arises that this is not just about the AfD and Musk. In many respects, the latest Welt affair is reminiscent of a critical article on trans hype, which was taken down after huge displeasure from the trans-moving elements of the republic. Mathias Döpfner then prescribed a strict LGBTQ-friendly course. As with the coronavirus issue, the editors, who are brushed against the grain, are testing their limits. A baptism of fire for the new editor-in-chief?


https://www.tichyseinblick.de/feuill...weit-die-welt/