Elon Musk's political influence raises global concern

The latest antics of the billionaire are attacks on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the announcement of possible support, possibly financial, for Nigel Farage's far-right Reform UK party. The same Farage who co-authored the campaign for Brexit. Musk also supported, a few weeks before the parliamentary elections, the German far-right party AfD, announced that Olaf Scholz must go, and insulted the chancellor with posts on the X service, reports Axios.

The man who is the right-hand of the future U.S. president attacks the leaders of countries that are America's most important allies, the portal emphasizes.

"Starmer was complicit in the RAPE OF BRITAIN" (original spelling) - announced Musk on X, referring to the investigation into the rape gangs. "Starmer must go and he must face charges for his complicity in the worst mass crime in the history of Britain," he added. In an interview with Axios, he said he is exploring legal options for funding the Reform UK party campaign, but American "Newsweek" cites another of his statements when Musk announced he might invest over CAD 227 million in Farage's group.

Farage himself informed the "Daily Telegraph" that Musk would fund his party.

Regarding Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the billionaire wrote on X that he is an "insufferable fool," after which he shared with his fans an interview with the Prime Minister's rival, conservative politician Pierre Poilievre.

"The Economist" reminds that when Musk decided to support AfD in Germany and called this party the "only hope of the country," Friedrich Merz, the leader of the CDU and a candidate for chancellor, said: "I can’t remember a comparable case of interference in the election campaign of a friendly country in the history of the Western democracies."

The billionaire's posts on his X service about German politicians are "childishly offensive," according to the British weekly. He called President Frank-Walter Steinmeier an "anti-democratic tyrant," and he writes about the chancellor as "Oaf Schtiz."

As Axios assesses, since Musk gained tremendous influence in the incoming American administration, he tries to use it in both domestic and foreign policy. So much so that Republican congressmen have started calling him "prime minister."

The issue is that the billionaire has threatened congressmen who try to oppose him that he will finance their rivals' campaigns during the Congressional elections. This is a very strong incentive for Republicans to comply with his demands, writes Axios.

The "New Yorker" magazine described spring campaigns conducted by Silicon Valley billionaire-backed Super PAC organizations, which dashed the electoral chances of candidates who were reluctant to them for Congress or state authorities.

The scale of Musk's financial capabilities is shown in "Forbes" rankings. The value of his fortune increased in 2024 and reaches CAD 608 billion. The gap between the richest person in the world and second on the list, Jeff Bezos (CAD 336 billion), has grown to a historic record - CAD 271 billion. No one before Elon Musk "has been worth CAD 433 billion, let alone CAD 577 billion," emphasizes "Forbes."

Renowned American historian Timothy Snyder warned in an interview with "The Guardian" that Trump’s camp should be concerned about the role Musk is beginning to play and the scale of his influence.

Now that the president-elect announces that regarding aid to Ukraine, the White House will pursue a new policy and there is a fear that it will "heavily favor Vladimir Putin and Russia," Snyder believes we should pay attention to who has a voice in Trump's administration, writes "The Guardian."

I think we overestimate Trump and we underestimate Musk, said the historian.

According to Snyder, the White House will become the scene of a serious confrontation between the president and his most powerful ally, although on the other hand, Musk is needed by Trump because he will finance his projects.

A lot of smart Russia hands are saying this all the time: this is kind of like the 1990s in Russia. You have the doddering, rich-but-not-very-rich president [Boris Yeltsin], surrounded by more youthful, more active, ambitious oligarchs. That’s the kind of scenario [America is] in, warned Snyder.

Bill Kristol, a writer and commentator, one of America's most famous neoconservatives, wrote in the summer that billionaires like Musk are the "new oligarchs," who supported Trump to be able to control the government, which threatens America's political order.