Elon’s European invasion infuriates world leaders

In the US, right-wing billionaire Elon Musk recently helped with the selection conservative political leader (Donald Trump) of using its social media platform X to flood the internet with right wing propaganda which made American liberals look like deranged degenerates. Now he seems to be trying to do the same in Europe. In recent days, however, a number of European officials have criticized the billionaire and his relentless attempts to meddle in their nations’ politics.

On Monday, Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, held a press conference in which he defended himself against continued attacks by Musk, who has spent the past few weeks hyping up a scandal he claims is linked to Starmer. The scandal in question relates to the phenomenon of ‘hairdressing gangs’ in the north of England, which are said to be made up mainly of perpetrators of South Asian or British Pakistani heritage. Starmer headed the Crown Prosecution Service, Britain’s main justice department, when the scandal broke more than a decade ago. Although there is little evidence for his claims, Musk accused Starmer of misconduct at the hearing and said he should “face charges of complicity in the worst mass crime in British history”. The intention appears to be to use the scandal to tarnish Starmer’s government and replace it with one more amenable to Musk’s interests.

During the press conference, Starmer hit back at the American billionaire, saying: “Sexual exploitation of children is absolutely abhorrent. For many years, too many victims have been completely let down. Those who spread lies and misinformation as far and wide as possible do not care about the victims, they care about themselves. Starmer did not directly name Musk during his address, although his connection to the affair was clear.

Musk recently stated that King Charles should dissolve the British Parliament to restore the “security” of the country. On Monday it doubled, post a poll on X in which he asked consumers if America should “liberate the people of Great Britain from their tyrannical government.” Around the same time, accused sex offender and men’s rights activist Andrew Tate helpfully declared his political ambitions to replace Starmer as Prime Minister.

Musk’s feud with Starmer has inspired other European leaders to criticize him. During a speech he delivered to French ambassadors on Monday, French leader Emmanuel Macron seems to characterize Musk as a toxic influence on European politics: “Who would have thought if we were told that the owner of one of the largest social networks in the world would support the new international reactionary movement and directly intervene in the elections?” Macron said. On X, Musk subsequently opposed to Macron, reposting the French leader’s comments with his own rebuttal.

musk was also criticized from Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gaar Storre, who said Monday it was “alarming” that the billionaire and close Trump ally was so openly trying to hijack European politics. “I find it alarming that a person with huge access to social media and large financial resources is so directly involved in the internal affairs of other countries,” Støre told public broadcaster NRK. “It shouldn’t be this way between democracies and allies.”

Meanwhile, Musk caused more drama when he broke up with MP Nigel Farage on Monday. A longtime ally of the American political right, Musk nevertheless called on Farage to step down. “The reform party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes,” Musk tweeted. The tweet came just days after Musk endorsed Tommy Robinson, a currently jailed far-right activist who, like Farage, has disparaged Muslims and immigrants.

Shortly after Musk’s attack, Farage posted a video of X in which he denounced the Starmer government and drew attention to the gang-rape scandal. “Keir Starmer is sweeping the failures of the establishment under the carpet,” Farage said in the video. “Nothing less than a full national investigation into gang-rapes will do.” Musk then repost Farage’s video, writing only: “Yes.”

Musk has also drawn criticism from the European Union for his plans to interview far-right German politician Alice Weidel, leader of Alternative for Germany party, or AfD. Indeed, between proposing America oust the leader of one of its longest-standing allies and advocating for convicted felons to run, Musk has also supported the far-right party in Germany. Musk had previously said that only the AfD could “save Germany” – a controversial comment given the fact that the AfD is associated with neo-Nazis. The EU announced it monitoring plans Musk’s interview with Weidel to make sure it wouldn’t run afoul of content moderation rules.

Despite his current rise, it’s unclear how long Musk’s political career will last. Musk has hitched his wagon to Trump’s stardom, so his political power seems to depend largely on the health of their relationship. On a recent podcast episodeNew York Times journalist Maggie Haberman told tech reporter Kara Swisher, “Trump has been complaining a little bit to people about how Musk is around a lot.”