Rome, Italy:
George Soros interferes in the domestic politics of other nations and uses his money to destabilise countries, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday. Her remarks come at a time when Elon Musk is being criticised for his alleged interference in Europe’s politics.
Ms Meloni said Elon Musk’s comments about politics in Europe on his social media platform X does not pose a threat to democracy in any way. She compared him to billionaire George Soros, saying the latter is what a threat to democracy and political interference really looks like.
Claiming that foreigners have for long been interfering in Europe’s politics, the Italian prime minister questioned reporters saying, “Elon Musk is only exercising his right to free speech”. She wondered if the problem was that he happens to be rich and has views that are ‘right of centre’. “Is the problem (with Elon Musk) that he is rich and influential? Or is it because he is not left-wing?” she asked.
Citing the example of George Soros, she went on to say that it is well-known how rich and powerful people with “left-wing ideologies” have indulged in political interference of other democracies, concluding that “Musk does not pose a threat to democracies, George Soros does.,” to which Elon Musk quickly responded on X, saying “And Soros is being defeated.”
Ms Meloni further said that she had not taken any money from Elon Musk, “unlike those who have taken it from Soros”. She also denied media reports that her government in Italy is on the cusp of signing a giant, and controversial, cybersecurity deal with Elon Musk’s company SpaceX.
Elon Musk, whose massive support to Donald Trump helped him win the US election, is now facing severe criticism by liberals across Europe for his string of attacks on several European leaders on his social media website X. In particular, Mr Musk has strongly targeted UK prime minister Kier Starmer and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
This has worried many in Europe, which is already seeing a surge in support for the right or far-right across the continent. Addressing those concerns at a press conference, Ms Meloni said Elon Musk’s views on X can in no way be termed as “dangerous interference”.
“It becomes a problem when wealthy people use their resources to finance certain political parties, associations, organisations and political exponents all over the world to influence the political choices of nation states,” Ms Meloni said, adding that “That’s not what Musk is doing”.
“I am not aware of Elon Musk financing political parties, associations or political exponents around the world. This, for example, is what George Soros does – And yes, I consider that to be dangerous interference in the affairs of nation states and in their sovereignty,” she said.
George Soros has used the wealth he has amassed as a financier in the 1970s and 80s to create the Open Society Foundations or OSF, which supports and funds a broad network of “causes” and NGOs worldwide, rang. His foundation reportedly claims that this is done to promote good-governance, liberal public policy initiatives, and democracy-building programmes. Though Soros and his foundation face serious charges of political interference, promoting social anarchy, funding political parties during elections, among others. He is often also targeted for anti-Semitic conspiracies.
