Spain’s Sanchez says Musk incites hatred, warns of fascism in Europe | News of the European Union
Elon Musk raised alarm across Europe with a series of attacks on the continent’s leaders.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez accused US tech billionaire Elon Musk of leading an “international reactionary movement” and warned that the far right could revive European politics.
Musk, who is set to serve as an adviser to US President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, has sparked outrage across Europe in recent weeks with a series of attacks on the continent’s leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Musk also waded into Spanish affairs on Sunday, commenting on an article that said rape convictions in the Spanish region of Catalonia were mostly carried out by foreigners.
Chairing an event in Madrid marking the 50th anniversary of the death of fascist dictator Francisco Franco on Wednesday, Sanchez accused Musk of leading an “international reactionary” movement that “openly attacks our institutions, incites hatred and openly calls for support for the heir to Nazism in the upcoming elections in Germany”.
“Autocratic regimes are thriving halfway around the world,” Sanchez said, warning that “the fascism we thought we’d left behind is now the third political force in Europe,” adding that the far right is backed by “the richest man on the planet,” referring to Musk , whom he did not name.
The comments come after Musk offered strong support to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party ahead of the country’s February 23 snap election.
The billionaire also called for the removal of Starmer and urged release from prison Tommy Robinson, a far-right British activist serving an 18-month sentence for contempt of court.
The EU is weighing its response
The European Union is grappling with how to respond to Musk’s interference. Some European governments are pressuring the European Commission to use its legal arsenal.
“Either the European Commission will apply the laws that exist to protect our single space with the utmost firmness or not, and in that case it should consider returning the capacity for this to the EU member states,” French Foreign Minister Jean – Noel Barrot told the radio France Inter earlier on Wednesday.
The issue tests the EU’s willingness to confront Musk head-on and risks antagonizing the new Trump administration, as well as the effectiveness of the Digital Services Act (DSA) bloc, which regulates the operation of social media platforms in the EU.
A Commission spokesman said this week that the DSA had previously proven to be an effective tool to combat the risks posed by leading social media platforms and said a political decision had been taken not to respond directly to Musk’s tweets and “stimulate debate”, Reuters news agency reported.
Musk last month called German Chancellor Olaf Scholz an “incompetent fool” who should resign after a deadly car attack in Germany. On Thursday, Musk will use his platform to talk to AfD leader Alice Weidel.
Scholz responded by calling for cool. “Don’t feed the troll,” he told German weekly Stern on January 4.
French President Emmanuel Macron took aim at Musk earlier this week.
“Ten years ago, who would have believed that we were told that the owner of one of the largest social networks in the world … was directly interfering in elections, including in Germany?” he said.
Musk has also repeatedly criticized Britain’s Starmer and his government, the latest because of the child sexual abuse scandal more than ten years ago.
Starmer on Monday criticized “those who spread lies and misinformation as far as possible” without mentioning Musk by name.
