A “new reactionary international”: how Elon Musk is spreading his fascist ideals in Europe
MARIUS THIRION ROSZYK
If Donald Trump began his second term as President of the United States on January 20, he owes it in part to his new friend Elon Musk. With little rancor, the American billionaire has offered the new Ministry of “Government Efficiency” to the man who, in 2022, considered him “too old to be President of anything, let alone the United States of America.”
It should be remembered that Musk used his considerable influence to help the Republican candidate win, occupying the public space like never before. He spent more than 260 million dollars during the campaign, investing in particular in advertisements defending Trump's position on the thorny issue of abortion. In parallel, he spoke at several rallies to encourage voters, especially in undecided states, to vote Republican.
Finally, in the months leading up to the election, Musk took advantage of his dominance over the social network X (formerly Twitter) to spread a torrent of false information: according to the Center for Countering Digital Hate, more than 87% of its posts this year have promoted false or misleading claims about the US election. Its posts have racked up 1.700 billion views, twice as many views as all of the platform’s political ads combined during the election period.
Now, the new political ambitions of the Tesla and Space X president are no longer limited to the United States. European politics has become his new favorite field of expression, with the assumed aim of promoting a fascist ideology similar to the one he has widely propagated in the US.
In the context of the German elections (on February 23), Musk openly supported the far-right party AfD on his social network, in a column published in the newspaper The World and in a dialogue with its leader Alice Weidel, broadcast on January 9 on her social network X.
Musk then turned his attention to the UK, criticising Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer for his lax handling of a serial rape case during his time as a prosecutor. He used the occasion to lend his support to extremist Tommy Robinson, currently in prison for contempt of court. Robinson is known for having founded the English Defence League, a British far-right Islamophobic group.
The businessman had previously strongly criticised the European Union, accusing it of being too bureaucratic (and, implicitly, of having legislation that is too restrictive for technology companies like X).
In response to these repeated attacks, Keir Starmer denounced at a press conference “those who spread lies and disinformation”. He also accused the conservative opposition of “amplifying the opinions of the extreme right”. Indeed, the leader of the conservative party, Kemi Badenoch, had taken advantage of the controversy to call for a new national investigation into these cases of rape. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron have adopted a similar position, accusing Elon Musk of promoting a “new fascist international” and of “interfering in the politics of the Old Continent”.
However, the European Union has so far remained silent. Indeed, some European leaders such as Giorgia Meloni and Viktor Orban openly claim their ideological closeness to Donald Trump. It is therefore difficult for the 27 member states to speak with one voice on the issue. Several states are also facing intense economic pressure: at the head of Tesla, Elon Musk employs 10,000 people in Germany, in a sector in decline but vital to the German economy. This immobility raises questions, despite clear European legislation that provides for the possible banning of the social network X if its rules are violated.
The situation is even more worrying when we consider the reasons for Musk's interference in European politics: in 2022, he acquired Twitter as part of a political experiment that sought to measure the impact of social media on electoral processes. He used the platform to support Donald Trump's candidacy and ensure his victory in the presidential election.
This approach seems to have paid off, as Elon Musk is now expanding his strategy to the international arena. His main targets are the most populous countries in Europe, where he seeks to foster populist and far-right movements. His hypothesis behind this move is that if he manages to influence the large European states, smaller countries will follow suit.
Musk is not alone in this initiative. He has been joined by a group of influential tech entrepreneurs, such as Peter Thiel (co-founder of Paypal) and David Sacks (specialist in artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies) who share his political affinity for Trump and are willing to invest significant resources to promote his agenda in Europe.
The reasons for this initiative are clear: when the far right comes to power, it tends to align the interests of the country with those of the global oligarchic system, of which Elon Musk and his friends are a part. For example, in Italy, the post-fascist government of Giorgia Meloni is negotiating a €1.500 billion contract with SpaceX for secure communication systems. In response to criticism from several opposition parties, the head of government maintained that Musk “does not represent a danger to European democracy.”
Despite Meloni’s calls for calm, the situation is clear. We are at the beginning of the fascist machinery being set in motion on a global scale. If European governments and the EU do not act quickly, the fascist oligarchy will soon be too global and powerful to stop the inevitable slide of our societies towards authoritarianism and division.
