In an unusual move, Italy’s president sharply rebuked Elon Musk for weighing in on Italy’s immigration debate in a series of posts on Mr.
Musk’s X platform.
In one of a flurry of posts, Mr. Musk wrote on Tuesday, “These judges need to go.” He was referring to the Roman judges who on Monday put on hold the government’s request to place a group of migrants in Albania as part of a new plan to outsource asylum requests to the Balkan country.
In a related post on Wednesday, Mr. Musk wrote: “This is unacceptable. Do the people of Italy live in a democracy or does an unelected autocracy make the decisions?”
On Wednesday, Mr. Musk’s posts prompted a sharp reaction by Italy’s president, Sergio Mattarella, who said in a statement that Italy “can take care of herself.” He added, “Anyone, especially if, as announced, they are about to assume an important government role in a friendly and allied country, must respect its sovereignty and cannot assume the task of imparting prescriptions.”
The statement on Wednesday was an unusual intervention by Mr. Mattarella, who is Italy’s head of state but not part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government. Among his duties, he presides over the high council of the judiciary, the branch’s self-governing body that ensures the magistrates’ autonomy and independence.
Critics of Ms. Meloni’s government praised Mr. Mattarella’s reaction and attacked Ms. Meloni, who considers herself a friend of Mr.
Musk, for failing to condemn the entrepreneur’s intrusion despite having built her political identity around the protection of Italy’s sovereignty.
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Musk thinks he’s the ‘Savior of Free Speech,’ but he doesn’t get to barge into Italy’s politics like it’s his own sandbox. Classic billionaire arrogance—he’s got zero accountability and thinks he can dictate what a nation should do about immigration
This is the problem with letting tech billionaires have such a loud voice—they get used to people listening. Musk railing against 'unelected autocrats'? Come on. We’re talking about a guy who calls himself 'Technoking.' The hypocrisy is mind-blowing.
@JusticeRiceGreen1yr1Y
Exactly! Musk doesn’t understand Italian politics or the complexities of migration in Europe, yet he feels entitled to weigh in. He’s the last person who should lecture Italy on democracy—maybe he should focus on running his companies without controversies for once.
@7Z4V958Centre-Left1yr1Y
It’s refreshing to see a country stand up to Big Tech. Musk thinks he can steamroll governments like he does his own staff. Italy’s judiciary is independent, and if Musk can’t grasp that, he needs a civics lesson.
@D3legateChloe1yr1Y
Elon Musk, the modern-day Medici, thinks he can just dictate Italian policy now? Oh, how the tables have turned when billionaires start playing judge, jury, and executioner over nations.
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