After securing unprecedented power in the United States following his appointment by Trump as head of the Department of Government Effectiveness, Elon Musk is now taking on the European political scene by targeting different personalities and political parties . To do this, Musk uses his social network X as a sounding board for his support for the far right, sparking accusations of political interference. What goals does the richest man in the world aim for? Why attack Europe? And what could be the consequences for US-European relations? To answer these questions, Jean-Yves Camus, journalist, political scientist and director of the Observatory of Political Radicalities of the Jean-Jaurès Foundation, delivers to Offense his analysis of these controversial positions.
Germany and the United Kingdom in the crosshairs
Six weeks before the German legislative elections, Musk multiplies the attacks against Chancellor Olaf Scholz, calling him “an incompetent imbecile (tdlr) “, while displaying explicit support for the far right by ensuring that only the far-right party the Alternative for Germany (AfD) is able to ” save Germany “. In a column for Die Welt, he praised the AfD’s policy on immigration, tax cuts and market deregulation.
On Thursday, January 9, Musk amplified the controversy by participating and hosting a live broadcast on X with Alice Weidel, the AfD candidate in the early parliamentary elections, sparking outrage among European leaders. Several parliamentarians, including Raphaël Glucksmann, the French head of PS-Place publique list for the 2024 European elections, called on the European Commission to investigate X and Tiktok and their potential role in political destabilization, demanding sanctions in the event of non-compliance with European rules.
Similarly, since Keir Starmer came to power in the United Kingdom in July 2024, Elon Musk has called the Labor prime minister a “leader.” evil » at the head of a « tyrannical police state “. He accuses him in particular of not having prosecuted criminals involved in cases of sexual violence in the north of England when he was director of public prosecutions between 2008 and 2013, accusations that Starmer refutes, denouncing lies and disinformation.
Separately, Musk offered $100 million in financial support to Nigel Farage, leader of the conservative and eurosceptic Reform UK party, to strengthen the conservative opposition, an offer Farage declined. The disagreement deepened after Musk’s support for Tommy Robinson, a far-right activist and follower of conspiracy theories, anti-immigration and anti-Muslims convicted in 2024 for defamation of a young refugee of Syrian origin.
What objectives?
According to Jean-Yves Camus, “the whole question is whether Musk acts with the approval of Donald Trump or whether he continues, driven by his megalomania, to want to saturate the space of a social network that belongs to him.” This question arises a few days before the inauguration of Donald Trump, in a context where Europeans are worried about the consequences of the latter’s coming to power, particularly on the defense of the Old Continent in the event of aggression. Russian. If the hypothesis that Musk acts with Trump’s approval is confirmed, this could indicate, according to Jean-Yves Camus, a much more ambitious and worrying political project: that of constituting a European populist network which would aim to propagate the vision Trumpist, potentially calling into question the democratic and institutional foundations of Europe.
The political scientist warns against the risk of giving excessive importance to Elon Musk in European affairs. He also emphasizes that this type of rapprochement between Europe and Donald Trump’s supporters is not new. Jean-Yves Camus mentions in particular the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), an annual political gathering of American conservatives. In 2019, Steve Bannon, former strategist for Donald Trump, tried to extend this initiative in Europe by interfering in national policies, in the run-up to the European elections. Its objective: “to create a European foundation intended to unite far-right parties”, recalls Camus. Steve Bannon’s failure to unite the European far right reminds us that, just like Elon Musk who relies more on his fortune and his influence, parties like the RN, Fratelli d’Italia, the FPÖ or even Fidesz do not did not wait for external figures to impose themselves on the political scene.
Jean-Yves Camus evokes another hypothesis to explain the actions of Elon Musk: “banking on his financial and media strength to bring European parties in his wake”. According to him, this could involve subsidies and the promotion of content during the electoral period, a strategy which is reminiscent of the political objectives of Russian interference, making it possible to saturate a social network which belongs to it in order to feed it, recover data and make people talk about themselves. However, he recalls that European countries have strict rules governing political financing by foreign donors, while the European Parliament and the Commission take care to prevent any transformation of elected officials into agents of foreign influence.
Can Elon Musk change the situation in Europe?
In reality, everything depends on the response of the European Union (EU) and the degree of freedom that Trump will allow Elon Musk following his inauguration. “It all depends on how far the EU is prepared to go with regard to Musk’s economic power, which is significantly greater than that of many states,” maintains Jean-Yves Camus. The new Parliament and the new Commission resulting from the 2024 elections, more conservative, show little appetite for strong actions. Figures like Italian Prime Minister Meloni negotiate with Von der Leyen, President of the European Commission while Orbán, Hungarian Prime Minister ignores European sanctions. The political scientist recalls that “the EU is unfortunately a political non-power, held back by weak common diplomacy and the absence of its own army”, which leaves the advantage to Musk.
Another key thing to watch is the relationship between Elon Musk and Donald Trump. For the moment, “he and Trump are not yet in office and can launch the most extreme ideas to thank the most radical voters,” analyzes Jean-Yves Camus. However, he qualifies: “It will be more complicated when diplomacy, we can hope, regains its rights. »
Musk’s involvement in European affairs, but also in international issues, goes well beyond the scope of the functions entrusted by Trump. This omnipresence led the former president to declare during a speech in Phoenix, Arizona, on December 23: “No, he’s not going to be president. » A remark that suggests that Trump’s hubris may be the only real limit to Musk’s growing influence.
