In October 2022, Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion, renamed it on his favorite toy. From the first moment, the billionaire used the social network to broadcast any idea that crossed his mind and allow others to do so, whether the comments were or not. racist, homophobicencourage conspiracy theories or incite hatred.
Later, the founder of SpaceX and Tesla also decided to use the platform to interfere in American politics. Specifically, for fervently supporting then-Republican President Donald Trump in his run for the White House, despite the fact that he is officially a convicted felon and has questioned the functioning of the American democracy.
Now that Trump has finally been re-elected after winning the November 5 presidential election, Elon Musk is reaping the benefits: this Tuesday, the president-elect announced that Musk —with businessman Vivek Ramaswamy—, would be in front of the Department ofAnd Government Efficiency (DOGE), responsible for reshaping government. Thus, since he will directly influence American politics, the tycoon has decided to use the politics of other countries. And it’s Italy’s turn.
“These judges need to go.” With this sentence, the billionaire tried on Tuesday to support Giorgia Meloni, the Italian Prime Minister, in her battle against Italian justice, which rejected for the second time the president’s plan to expel migrants to Albania. “This is unacceptable. Do Italians live in a democracy or in an unelected autocracy that makes decisions?” Musk insisted in another comment on Wednesday.
The truth is that Meloni and Musk maintain a special friendship for years. In 2023, the Prime Minister invited Musk with full honors to the annual party of her party, the far-right Fratelli d’Italia party. In 2024, the tycoon gave him Meloni in New York the Global Citizen Prizefrom the Atlantic Council think tank, and described her as a person “even more beautiful on the inside than on the outside.” This good harmony, captured in a photograph in which they were seen having dinner together, sparked rumors about a possible romantic relationship which they both later denied.
Nelle Scorse prays ho sentito l’amico @elonmusk. I am convinced that his impegno and his vision can represent a significant risk for the United States and for Italy, in a spirit of collaboration to face the future future. pic.twitter.com/sAqHNG1kaG
– Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) November 7, 2024
Perhaps this is why Musk came to the defense of Meloni’s controversial immigration policy, which shook the very foundations of the European Union and surprised no one. But it raised light bulbs in the country. Even if the head of government remained silent, the president, Sergio Mattarellaseverely indicted the businessman.
“Italy is a great democratic country and knows how to take care of itself. All of them, especially those who, as has been announced, are about to take on an important governmental role. in a friendly and allied countrythey must respect sovereignty and cannot assume the task of issuing prescriptions,” asked the Italian head of state.
However, due to his proximity to Musk and his sympathy for Trumpmany suggest that Meloni could become Europe’s main interlocutor with the new US administration. Especially since the president-elect has already announced that relations would be complicated: he promised impose customs duties on European products and cut funding to Ukraine to deal with the Russian invasion.
