European leaders decry Elon Musk's meddling

Elon Musk does not hold the kind of sway over German voters that recent hand-wringing would imply, the government of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday.

"The normal people, the sensible people, the decent people are far in the majority in this country," a spokesman said, a week after the government accused the tycoon of using his social media site X to try and promote the interests of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) ahead of federal elections in February.

"We act as if Mr Musk's statements... could influence a country of 84 million people with untruths or half-truths or expressions of opinion. This is simply not the case," he added.

On top of his support for the AfD, Musk called German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier a "tyrant." The Tesla CEO has also announced plans to hold a livestream meeting with AfD leader Alice Weidel on Thursday.

Macron, Starmer also criticize Musk

Scholz was not the only European leader with strong words for Musk on Monday, with France's President   Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr raising concerns. 

"Ten years ago, who could have imagined it 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 intervene directly in elections, including in Germany," said Macron.

At the same time, Macron said France would remain an ally to the US under President-elect Donald Trump, to whom Musk is a staunch ally.

Starmer was also asked to react to comments from Musk, who has implied that Starmer did not do enough to go after child grooming circles when he was a prosecutor.

Musk had praised Tommy Robinson, one of the UK's most extreme and well-known far-right agitators.

"Those that are spreading lies and misinformation as far and as wide as possible, they're not interested in victims, they're interested in themselves," Starmer told a press conference, without mentioning Musk by name.

"I'm prepared to call out this for what it is. We've seen this playbook many times: the whipping up of intimidation and threats of violence, hoping that the media will amplify it."

Norway's Store said he found it "worrying that a man with considerable access to social networks and significant economic resources is so directly involved in the internal affairs of other countries."

es/wd (AFP, dpa, Reuters)