Musk angers European leaders for supporting the “far-right”

The American billionaire, Elon Musk, who became a member of the management team of President-elect Donald Trump, is practicing a foreign policy towards Europe that promotes far-right parties, which has sparked anger among the leaders of European countries and embroiled them in the problem of how to respond to him without angering his president, Trump.

Musk cannot be easily ignored or excluded, as he is considered an extraordinary person, as he owns some of the most strategic and influential companies in the world, such as: “Tesla” and “SpaceX”. He also owns and manages the “X” platform, which is considered among the most powerful communication platforms. Social.

Musk highlights his enormous influence as a populist force that mobilizes political agitators as a kind of non-national force that is not affiliated with any state.

It appears that Musk is reviewing the international turmoil that most likely awaits the president-elect when he returns to the White House soon, as well as potential conflicts over interests in the future, because Malik “X” will not only be a powerful free agent, but will also be an internal advisor to the new US government. He is at the head of the Ministry of Government Efficiency, so it will be difficult to know where Musk’s policy ends and official American foreign policy begins.

For outsiders, Musk’s “attacks” on European elected officials with whom he disagrees pose a risk of becoming an attempt by the future US government to interfere in the politics of similar democratic and sovereign countries in order to destabilize their governments.

questions

Musk’s movements raise the question of whether he is acting on the directives of Trump, whom he considers a role model for “disruption,” or whether he may soon end up annoying the 47th president as he tries to make his mark on the world.

“Does Musk carry Trump’s foreign policy agenda and act as Trump’s personal ambassador in all places?” says Lindsay Gorman, managing director and senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund. “Or is Musk putting forward his view on global issues that he might align with Trump in some ways, but not in others, and then, what are the power dynamics between them?”

Trump’s willingness to tolerate Musk’s “fierce attacks” against the leaders of a number of allied countries is a sign that the coming months could be more difficult for America’s friends than Trump’s first term, and this reality was finally evident when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation. .

Trudeau has long squandered the trust of Canadians and his Liberal Party, but Trump’s threats to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian imports have exacerbated the political crisis in Ottawa and may have hastened the departure of an opponent whom Trump described as the “governor” of the 51st US state. The apparent sense of freedom that Trump and Musk feel to play politics abroad is also a sign of the self-confidence of the “Make America Great Again” movement ahead of Trump’s inauguration. They appear to believe that their power allows them to bully small countries, and perhaps heralds a new and more impudent incarnation of the slogan “America First.”

Criticisms

Musk’s “attacks” on European leaders through the “X” platform, through which 211 million people follow him, led to extreme dissatisfaction and impatience among some leaders of countries that are among America’s closest traditional allies, and raised tensions across the Atlantic ahead of the start of Trump’s second term.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was targeted by Musk several weeks ago, warned that Malik “X” had crossed his “limits” after he said that the British minister responsible for child protection should go to prison, and that he was defending rape. Starmer himself was criticized by Musk over a historic sexual assault case in the United Kingdom.

French President Emmanuel Macron also accused the American billionaire of fueling a “global reactionary movement” and of interfering in the elections.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz denounced the support of the owner of Tesla and SpaceX for the Alternative for Germany party, which belongs to the far right and is known for its support for Russia.

For his part, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Sture said that he finds it “worrying” that a person with so much wealth and influence would interfere in the politics of European countries.

Trump’s ideology

This anger sparked by Musk shows the essence of Trump’s ideology represented by the “Make America Great Again” movement. He goes after establishment politicians and seeks to promote outcast far-right populists whose opinions and moods reflect the views and aspirations of the president-elect.

In Europe, as in the United States, many voters have become dissatisfied with governments that they believe have failed to improve their economic conditions and stop immigration.

Many Americans believe that Musk is exercising his rights guaranteed to him by the First Amendment to the Constitution, but in Europe, a continent haunted by the obsession with fear of right-wing extremists, his support for “radical” populism is considered by many leaders to be offensive, and not an example of freedom of expression, but rather an example of freedom of expression. An attempt to stifle freedom and democracy.

Foreign policy

Trump’s foreign policy has long been at odds with the policies and actions of the West’s center-left leaders, and this may help explain the way Trump has dealt with Trudeau, who will most likely be succeeded by a conservative party leader, Pierre Poilievre, who shares some populist traits with Trump but condemns Trump described Canada as the 51st US state.

Likewise, if Musk is trying to undermine Starmer, his action stems from a lack of understanding of Britain’s political dynamic.

Starmer found himself forced to respond to Musk, who took to the X website to accuse him of being an accomplice in a historic child torture scandal, which he dealt with when he was director of public prosecutors.

Starmer said: “Those who spread lies and misinformation are not as concerned about the victims as they are about themselves, and when far-right poisons lead to dangerous threats to others, this is crossing a red line.”

Despite Starmer’s response, he, like other leaders, does not welcome exaggeration, because he wants to establish a relationship with Trump so that his country can avoid the worst consequences resulting from the new foreign policy based on imposing American power on friends and enemies alike.

However, the consequences of poor relations between the two sides of the Atlantic could affect Trump himself, as despite his poor dealings with those leaders, he may need the help of America’s allies one day, and Musk’s actions make it difficult for them to accommodate the next unpopular American president. Large in many of their countries. About “CNN”

---

The opposition is more in line with Trump

If there is a strategy in Elon Musk’s incitement of the crowds, it is that European opposition forces are more attuned to the anti-immigration and free-trade instincts of US President-elect Donald Trump than the current leaders at the helm of these countries, and Trump may be hoping to promote political interlocutors who might be more sympathetic. With him.

In France, for example, the National Rally (formerly known as the National Front), led by Marine Le Pen, could have its best chance of winning in the two-round presidential election system in 2027, while the AfD is unlikely to form. Yes Germany” The government in the German system that encourages coalitions, and its influence may increase after the federal elections next February.

Trump received the leaders of the far-right in Europe at the Mar-a-Lago resort, including the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban, and the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, who is perhaps the most powerful national leader in the European Union at the present time.

. Starmer confirmed that Musk had exceeded his limits… and Macron accused him of fueling a “global reactionary movement.”