Billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has repeatedly weighed in on social and political concerns across Europe, and leaders across the continent are starting to chafe.
Routinely ranking as the world’s richest man, and with a powerful social media platform, Musk has increasingly tested his political influence in recent years. After backing President-elect Donald Trump’s successful 2024 bid to return to the White House, Musk is now adding his voice to political debates on the other side of the Atlantic.
Since November, Musk has called for the removal of Italian judges opposed to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s migrant detention plan, praised the Alternative for Germany (AfD) political party as key to the country’s future, and accused British Prime Minister Keir Starmer of failing to adequately combat predominantly immigrant gangs engaging in targeted sexual violence and harassment.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has argued the AfD includes extremist elements and has expressed worry at Musk’s support for the party.
Other European leaders have bristled at the prospect of an outsider like Musk using his considerable wealth and social media clout to tip the political scales.
“Who could have imagined 10 years ago, that the owner of one of the world’s largest social networks would intervene directly in elections, including in Germany?” French President Emmanuel Macron said this week.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said, “I find it worrying that a man with enormous access to social media and vast financial resources is so directly involved in the internal affairs of other countries.”
Some of Musk’s most vocal European critics find themselves on the backfoot.
Scholz lost a no-confidence vote last month, sending Germany into a new round of election in February.
The French parliament ousted Prime Minister Michel Barnier after just three months in office, and Macron has admitted his decision to hold snap elections last June appears to have backfired.
Støre leads a minority coalition government and has faced poor polling and calls for his resignation ahead of Norway’s September elections.
Jacob Reynolds, the head of policy at European political think tank MCC Brussels, said it’s no coincidence these leaders are concerned by Musk’s recent foray into European politics.
“They recognize that the narratives that they’ve used to legitimate themselves over the last decade or so, or more, have been seriously called into question,” Reynolds told The Epoch Times this week.
While conservative and populist movements across Europe might benefit from the added attention Musk brings to their causes and concerns, he may be a tricky ally to work with.
In recent weeks, Musk has shown a growing rapport with Nigel Farage, the leader of the Reform UK Party. That relationship hit a speed bump this week, as Musk took to his platform to say the party should pick a new leader, adding, “Farage doesn’t have what it takes.”
Farage has suggested the breakdown with Musk was over imprisoned political activist Tommy Robinson. Musk has voiced support for Robinson, but Farage has signaled he doesn’t want to associate with Robinson, who is currently serving a prison sentence for violating a court order in a libel case.
—Ryan Morgan and The Associated Press
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