(Washington) 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, while keeping in mind heads its economic interests.
Posted at 1:49 p.m.
Updated at 3:37 p.m.
Aurelia END
Agence France-Presse
“Starmer must leave and he must be prosecuted by the courts,” wrote Friday on his social network Donald Trump.
The British Prime Minister, Labor Keir Starmer, is the latest target in a real campaign led by the boss of SpaceX, Tesla and ‘did 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. On Friday, he shared a message from former prime minister Liz Truss calling to stop funding the BBC.
Elon Musk, who amplified Donald Trump’s virulent anti-migrant rhetoric during the American presidential campaign, wrote almost continuously on Friday about a vast affair of sexual exploitation of young girls in the north of England, most of those responsible were men from Pakistan.
PHOTO HOLLIE ADAMS, REUTERS
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage
On this subject, the British Minister of Health, Wes Streeting, criticized him on Friday for criticism based on “errors of judgment and certainly ill-informed”.
Hungary, Romania, Italy
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 are increasingly intertwined,” notes the company’s director of political research, Chris Hopkins, to AFP.
“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 participate in a conversation on January 9 with the leader of this group, Alice Weidel, on X.
PHOTO ANNEGRET GREETINGS, REUTERS
Alice Weidel, leader of the German far-right AfD party.
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”.
Politics and 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”, estimates Ilan Kapoor, professor at York University in Toronto, known for his critical research on neoliberalism.
“They view authoritarian forms of government positively, which they believe can function more effectively,” he adds, while highlighting a “contradiction, since (the businessman and the president designated) need strong state power for their security program.”
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 the 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.
