Conservative Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni slammed her critics for claiming that her government had succumbed to foreign interference, emphasising that it is George Soros, not Elon Musk who is a danger to democracy.
The prime minister was answering questions at a press conference on Thursday, January 9th, when the topic of Elon Musk’s statements on European politics came up.
Businessman Musk, the owner of social media platform X, CEO of space company SpaceX and automotive firm Tesla, has not been shy in recent months in declaring his support for conservative, patriotic politicians and parties in Europe, and lambasting the leftist governments in Britain and Germany.
European officials have threatened him with punishment and fines for refusing to censor free speech on his X platform and criticised him for hosting a conversation with right-wing German opposition AfD leader Alice Weidel.
“Is the problem that Elon Musk is influential and rich or that he is not left-wing?” queried Meloni, who has also been attacked by the left-wing establishment, often being called a “fascist” for merely pursuing a conservative agenda.
She rejected the suggestion that Musk’s comments on X constituted “dangerous interference.”
The problem is when wealthy people use their resources to finance parties, associations and political exponents all over the world to influence the political choices of nation-states. That’s not what Musk is doing. This, for example, is what George Soros does.
While Musk was only exercising his right to free speech, Meloni said, powerful people on the left, including billionaire George Soros have interfered politically in the affairs of nation-states. “And yes, I consider that to be dangerous interference in the affairs of nation-states and in their sovereignty,” she said.
Hungarian-born Soros has indeed attempted to influence political life in many European countries, as well as the United States. He has used his Open Society Foundations to pour money into left-wing organisations and NGOs, to make sure that liberal-minded governments, judges, and prosecutors are elected. Conservative politicians in Central Europe and Israel, as well as U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, have denounced his machinations.
Meloni also denied reports that she had taken money from Elon Musk, “unlike those who have taken it from Soros.”
Her comments came as her government weighs up a possible contract relying on Starlink, part of Musk’s SpaceX business. A space-based telecommunications system would provide secure communications between the government, Italian diplomats and defence officials operating in sensitive areas across the Mediterranean.
“I evaluate foreign investments through a single lens, which is the lens of national interest, not friendships or political ideas of those who may invest,” Meloni stressed.
With regards to foreign interference, Italian daily Il Giornale recalled that during the last Italian election campaign, German chancellor Olaf Scholz had publicly endorsed Enrico Letta to be the prime minister, while Lars Klingbeil, secretary general of the German Social Democrats said, “Meloni’s post-fascists would lead Italy down the wrong path.”
