United Kingdom, Germany, Italy… how Elon Musk projects his influence in Europe, always for the benefit of the far right

He calls for new elections in the United Kingdom, supports the German far right, undermines the European Commission… Elon Musk projects his political influence in Europe, always for the benefit of the hard right and, according to experts, keeping his interests in mind economic.

“Starmer must leave and he must be prosecuted by the courts,” wrote Friday on his social network

Support from the anti-immigration Reform UK party

The British Prime Minister, Labor Keir Starmer, is the latest target in a real campaign led by the founder of Tesla and SpaceX across the Atlantic, using his platform as an echo chamber, as he has made during the American election campaign. He has called for the release of British far-right activist Tommy Robinson and supports the anti-immigration Reform UK party, whose leader, Nigel Farage, he recently met.

Social-democratic Germany targeted

As in the United States, Elon Musk is an increasingly popular figure among young British men, according to the polling institute Savanta. “Perceptions of success and wealth on the one hand and politics on the other hand are increasingly intertwined,” notes the company’s director of political research, Chris Hopkins. “Musk is no longer just a very critical commentator on British political life, but a leading actor,” wrote columnist Patrick Maguire on Friday in the Times.

Elon Musk met Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a key figure of the radical right, when the latter visited Donald Trump in Florida in early December.

The hyperactive businessman is also accused of interference by the German government because of his vigorous support for the far-right AfD party in the run-up to legislative elections. Elon Musk will also participate on January 9 in a conversation with the leader of this training, Alice Weidel, on X.

The 53-year-old entrepreneur, who has no official role in the future Trump government, but was tasked with a mission on reducing public spending, also called the constitutional judges who recently overturned “dictators”. the presidential election in Romania, against a backdrop of suspicions of Russian interference in favor of the nationalist candidate Calin Georgescu.

Elon Musk finally enthusiastically supports the head of the Italian government, Giorgia Meloni, the country’s most right-wing leader since 1945, who considers him a “genius”.

“Democracy and the welfare state are obstacles to business”

The political initiatives of the richest man in the world are closely linked to his economic interests, experts emphasize. For Elon Musk as for Donald Trump, “democracy, debate, disagreements, the welfare state are obstacles to business”, believes Ilan Kapoor, professor at York University in Toronto.

“The rise of Elon Musk is symptomatic of our neo-feudal capitalist era,” he wrote in a column on the Al Jazeera website. “They view authoritarian forms of government in a positive light, which they believe can function more effectively,” adds the Canadian researcher, while highlighting a “contradiction, since (the businessman and the elected president ) need strong state power for their security program”

X in the sights of the European executive

The entrepreneur also criticized the European Commission, describing the functioning of the European Union as “undemocratic” and calling for an increased role for the European Parliament.

The European executive has taken social network X in its sights. Accused of “deceiving” users with its blue checkmarks supposed to certify trustworthy sources of information, the company risks heavy fines. A former European commissioner, Vera Jourova, went so far as to describe Elon Musk as a “promoter of evil” in an interview with Politico last October.

In an article published on December 17, two researchers from the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), Jose Ignacio Torreblanca and Giorgios Verdi, predicted that Elon Musk “could use his platform to mobilize far-right citizens and parties to to increase the political cost for European leaders determined to continue the offensive” against X.