Few European leaders have felt Elon Musk's social media blows more than German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
X's billionaire tech owner called him an “incompetent fool” and called for his resignation. On Thursday, Musk will use his platform to host Alice Weidel, head of Germany's far-right, anti-immigrant AfD, for a lengthy conversation.
For many German politicians, it smacks of political meddling, with the AfD second in the polls ahead of federal elections on February 23.
“You have to keep your cool,” Scholz says. “Don't feed the troll.”
While some of Europe's leaders, notably Italy's Giorgia Meloni, have found favor with Musk, others are finding it hard to ignore him as he wades into their domestic politics ahead of a new role as an adviser to incoming US President Donald Trump .
Within 24 hours, four European governments objected to Musk's posts.
French President Emmanuel Macron was among the first to express his disbelief on Monday.
“Ten years ago, who would have believed if we had been told that the owner of one of the largest social networks in the world would support a new, international reactionary movement and directly intervene in elections, including in Germany?” he said.
ReutersNorwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gare Store also weighed in, saying he found it “alarming that a person with significant access to social networks and significant economic resources is so directly involved in the internal affairs of other countries”.
Spanish government spokesman Pilar Alegría said digital platforms like X must operate with “absolute neutrality and above all without any interference.”
Musk highlighted crime statistics in Norway and Spain and blamed the deadly attack at a Christmas market in Germany on “mass uncontrolled immigration”.
Over the past few days, Musk has written numerous posts attacking British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his administration for child marriage gangs and child sexual exploitation.
“Those who spread lies and misinformation as widely and widely as possible do not care about the victims, they care about themselves,” the British prime minister said, without mentioning Musk personally.
Two notable exceptions in Europe are Italy and Hungary.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni maintains close ties with Elon Musk and calls him a “genius” and “extraordinary innovator.”
ReutersAnd Hungarian President Viktor Orbán, who met with Musk during Trump's visit to Mar-a-Lago last month, shares Musk's distaste for Hungarian-born liberal philanthropist George Soros.
But the tech billionaire's intervention in German politics is the most contested, because of the upcoming elections.
He has spoken out several times in favor of the AfD in recent weeks and wrote a highly controversial article for Welt am Sonntag in which he called the AfD “the last glimmer of hope” for Germany.
Musk justified his intervention then with the financial investment of his company Tesla in Germany. He said the portrayal of the AfD as right-wing, extremist was “patently false” because Alice Weidel had a Sri Lankan same-sex partner.
German security services have designated the AfD as either right-wing extremist or suspected extremist, and courts have ruled that it pursues anti-democracy goals.
While Olaf Scholz tried to keep his cool, Greens chancellor candidate Robert Habeck was more direct: “Hands off our democracy, Mr. Musk.”
The leader of the liberal FDP, Christian Lindner, suggested that Musk's aim may be to weaken Germany in the interests of the US, “by recommending that we vote for a party that will harm us economically and isolate us politically”.
The former head of the European Commission's digital program, Thierry Breton, took to X last weekend to warn Alice Weidel, the AfD's candidate for chancellor, that a live chat with Musk on Thursday would give her a “significant and valuable advantage over your competitors”.
The European Commission has said there is nothing in EU rules on digital services that prohibits live streaming or expressing personal opinions.
However, a spokesman warned that platform owners should not provide “preferential treatment”. Musk's X is already under investigation, and the EU says the live stream will be subject to that investigation.
While Musk is outspoken about German politics, he is also expanding his business interests in Italy.
Georgia Meloni had just been on a whirlwind trip to dine with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago when reports emerged that Italy was in talks with Musk's SpaceX to sign a $1.6 billion deal (£1.3 billion) under which the Starlink satellites will provide encrypted Internet and telecommunications services for the Italian government.
The deal still doesn't appear to be done, and Rome quickly denied any contracts had been signed.
Musk said Monday he was “ready to provide Italy (with) the most secure and advanced connectivity” — without confirming a deal had been reached.
But the suggestion that Starlink could be entrusted with protecting the Italian government's communications was enough to raise alarm among some opposition politicians in Rome.
“Rendering such a delicate favor to Musk while he sponsors the European far-right, spreads fake news and meddles in the domestic politics of European countries cannot be an option,” said centrist leader Carlo Calenda.