Few European leaders have felt Elon Musk’s outbursts on social media more than German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
X’s owner, a tech billionaire, called him an “incompetent fool” and called on him to resign. On Thursday, Musk will use his platform to host Alice Weidel, the leader of Germany’s far-right, anti-immigrant AfD, for a lengthy conversation.
For many German politicians, this smacks of political interference, with the AfD second in the polls ahead of federal elections on February 23.
“You have to keep your cool,” says Scholz. “Don’t feed the troll.”
Although some of the European leaders, notably Italy’s Giorgio Meloni, have found favor with Musk, others find it hard to ignore him as he delves into their domestic politics ahead of his new role as an adviser to future US President Donald Trump.
Within 24 hours, four European governments objected to Musk’s announcements.
Frenchman Emmanuel Macron was among the first to express disbelief on Monday.
Ten years ago, who would have believed that we were told that the owner of one of the largest social networks in the world would support a new, international reactionary movement and directly intervene in elections, including those in Germany? he said.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store also spoke out, saying he found it “concerning that a man with significant access to social networks and significant economic resources is so directly involved in the internal affairs of other countries.”
Spanish government spokeswoman Pilar Alegría said digital platforms like X should operate with “absolute neutrality and above all without any interference.”
Musk pointed to crime statistics in Norway and Spain, and blamed “mass uncontrolled immigration” for the deadly attack on a Christmas market in Germany.
Over the past few days, Musk has written numerous posts attacking British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his administration for collusion and sexual exploitation of children.
Those who spread lies and misinformation as far and wide as possible are not interested in the victims, they are interested in themselves, the British prime minister said, without mentioning Musk personally.
Two notable exceptions in Europe are Italy and Hungary.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni maintains close ties with Elon Musk and calls him a “genius” and “extraordinary innovator.”
And Hungary’s Viktor Orban, who met Musk during a visit to Trump at Mar-a-Lago last month, shares Musk’s distaste for Hungarian-born liberal philanthropist George Soros.
But the tech billionaire’s intervention in German politics is what is most controversial because of the upcoming elections.
He has spoken in favor of the AfD several times in recent weeks, and wrote a highly controversial article for Welt am Sonntag in which he called the AfD “the last glimmer of hope” for Germany.
Musk then justified his intervention with the financial investment of his company Tesla in Germany. He said the portrayal of the AfD as right-wing, extremist was “clearly false”, because Alice Weidel had a Sri Lankan same-sex partner.
Germany’s security services have labeled the AfD as either a right-wing extremist or a suspected extremist, and courts have ruled that it pursues anti-democratic goals.
While Olaf Scholz tried to remain calm, the Greens’ candidate for chancellor, Robert Habeck, was more blunt: “Hands off our democracy, Mr. Musk.”
The leader of the liberal FDP, Christian Lindner, suggested that Musk’s goal might be to weaken Germany in the interests of the US, “recommending a vote for a party that would harm us economically and isolate us politically”.
The former head of the European Commission’s digital agenda, Thierry Breton, took to X last weekend to warn Alice Weidel, the AfD’s candidate for chancellor, that a live chat with Musk on Thursday would give her a “significant and valuable advantage over your competitors”.
The European Commission has said that there is nothing in EU rules on digital services that prohibits live broadcasting or the expression of personal views.
However, the spokesperson warned that platform owners should not be given “preferential treatment”. Musk’s X is already under investigation and the EU says the live stream will be subject to that investigation.
While Musk is open to German politics, he has also been expanding his business interests in Italy.
Giorgia Meloni was on a whirlwind trip to dine with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago when reports emerged that Italy was in talks with Musk’s SpaceX to sign a $1.6bn (£1.3bn) deal, which Starlink satellites would provide encrypted internet and telecommunications services for the Italian government.
The deal doesn’t appear to have been done yet, and Rome quickly denied that any deals had been signed.
On Monday, Musk said he was “ready to provide Italy [with] the most secure and advanced connection” – without confirmation that an agreement has been reached.
But the suggestion that Starlink could be entrusted with guarding the Italian government’s communications was enough to cause alarm among some opposition politicians in Rome.
“Rendering such a delicate favor to Musk while he is sponsoring the European far-right, spreading fake news and meddling in the internal politics of European countries cannot be an option,” centrist leader Carlo Calenda said.
