Billionaire interest in Europe divides opinion – although some leaders are raising the alarm, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni insists there is 'no danger'.
Elon Musk has urged German voters to get behind the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in next month's national election during a broadcast by the party leader.
United States technology billionaire, who is expected to be involved in the administration of the US President-elect Donald Trumpbroadcast live his conversation with Alice Weidel, the AfD's candidate for chancellor, through his X social media platform on Thursday.
More than 190,000 X accounts joined the chat, which saw Musk introduce Weidel as “the leading candidate to run Germany”, warning viewers they should vote for him ' party “otherwise things are going to get much, much worse in Germany”.
“Only AfD can save Germany. End of story,” he said.
Musk, who is expected to play an advisory role in the Trump administration, has been increasingly vocal in his support for far-right parties in Europe, showing particular interest in economic powerhouse Germany, where has opened the first European center of his car company Tesla in 2022.
During the conversation, Musk doubled down on his support for the AfD, an anti-immigration, anti-Islamic party, after previously sharing his support. thoughts in X posts and an opinion piece published by the newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
Musk and Weidel agreed that Germany was hampered by a “wrong” energy policy, excessive bureaucracy and unregulated immigration, comparing the media's treatment of the AfD to that of the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler pro-Jewish voices in the 1930s.
“People like to censor things they don't agree with,” said Musk, who pointed out that Weidel was recommending “nothing outrageous.”
Musk, a self-described libertarian, has called German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier a “traitor” for criticizing the AfD and called on Chancellor Olaf Scholz to resign. quit after a deadly car attack at a German Christmas market last month.
Both belong to the centre-left party of the Social Democrats.
'Lies and misinformation'
Leaders across Europe have expressed fear of Musk's political interventions. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has accused Musk of destroying democracy, without naming it directly, while France's foreign minister urged the European Union to use its laws more forcefully. to protect against external interference.
But the Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloniwho heads the far-right anti-immigration Brothers of Italy party, defended Musk on Thursday.
“I do not see this threat to democracy. Elon Musk is a rich and famous person who expresses his views,” she said.
Meloni's government is currently weighing a possible communications security deal with Starlink, part of Musk's SpaceX business.
The Italian leader says that Italy is facing a dilemma on how to protect sensitive communications as there are currently no other Italian or EU supported systems to replace Starlink.
But the project has been harshly criticized by opposition parties questioning whether the handling of such communications should be given to Musk's company.
“Is the problem with SpaceX that it is a private company, or is it Elon Musk's political views?” Meloni asked.
