Musk projects his hard-right influence in Europe

NEW YORK

He demanded new elections in Britain, promoted Germany's far-right, blasted the European Commission. And that's just the start.

Elon Musk is pushing the hard right in Europe, where progressives are grappling with how, or even whether, to contain him.

The interventions by the world's wealthiest man have already seen him secure unprecedented influence thanks to his proximity to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

Now the ever-more powerful Musk is turning his gaze on Europe, where many governments are already grappling with the rise of populism and the far-right.

"[Keir] Starmer must go and he must face charges for his complicity in the worst mass crime in the history of Britain," he posted recently.

He was referring to the British prime minister's time as chief state prosecutor in England and Wales, which coincided with a child grooming scandal.

Musk has also called for the release from prison of Tommy Robinson, an extremist agitator, and boosted the fringe anti-immigration Reform U.K. party, whose leader Nigel Farage he met with recently.

As in the United States, Musk is increasingly popular with young British men, according to the Savanta polling institute.

For them, "the lines between the perceptions of success and wealth are increasingly blurred with politics," Chris Hopkins, Savanta's political research director, told AFP.

Downing Street has so far refrained from engaging with Musk's comments, other than the odd light rebuke and stressing that it "looks forward" to working with Trump's administration.

The response on Jan. 3 by a senior British government minister to Musk's latest attacks over the exploitation scandal highlighted the delicacy of leaders' high-wire act.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting told ITV News that Musk's comments were "misjudged and certainly misinformed."

But, he swiftly added, "we're willing to work with Elon Musk, who I think has got a big role to play with his social media platform to help us and other countries to tackle this serious issue."

Britain is not Musk's only target in Europe.

He met Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, when the latter visited Trump in Florida last month.

The businessman has also been accused of interference by the German government for his strong support of the far-right AfD party ahead of parliamentary elections.

On Jan. 9, he will host a conversation with the party leader, Alice Weidel, on X.

Musk branded as "dictator" judges who recently annulled Romania's presidential election amid suspicions of Russian interference.

He is also an enthusiastic supporter of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the country's most right-wing leader since 1945, who calls her a "genius."

Musk's political initiatives are intimately linked to his economic interests, experts suggest.

For Musk and Trump, "democracy, debate, disagreement, state welfare systems all get in the way of business," said Ilan Kapoor, a professor at Toronto's York University.

"This is why they look favorably towards more authoritarian forms of government, which they think can function more efficiently, by eliminating political opposition and cutting down the role of government [although the contradiction is that they need a lot of state intervention when it comes to their 'law and order' agenda]."