LONDON (AP) — A new attack by Elon Musk against the institutions and democracy of the United Kingdom seemed to test the patience of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who this time came out to condemn the lies of the South African businessman.
The billionaire CEO of Tesla has shown a strong and erratic interest in British politics since the center-left Labour Party won by a wide margin in last July's elections.
What did Elon Musk say against the United Kingdom government?
Musk, who has used his social network X to call for new elections and demand that Starmer be "jailed", on Monday posted an online poll for his 210 million followers with the proposal: "The United States should free the people of Great Britain from their tyrannical government."
The South African-born entrepreneur did not offer explanations for why he considers a democratically elected government as a "tyranny" and how the United States could "liberate" it.
Faced with the question about Musk's comments during a dialogue session at a hospital near London, Starmer criticized "those who are spreading lies and misinformation as widely as possible," especially conservative opposition politicians in the UK who have adopted some of Musk's claims.
Musk frequently posts on X about the UK, retweeting criticisms of Starmer and the hashtag TwoTierKeir, an abbreviation of an unfounded claim that the UK uses a "two-tier police" system where far-right protesters are treated more severely than pro-Palestinian or Black Lives Matter protesters.
Recently, Musk has focused on child sexual abuse, particularly a series of cases that shook cities in northern England where groups of men, mostly of Pakistani origin, were tried for luring and abusing dozens of girls. The cases have been used by far-right activists to link child abuse with immigration and accuse politicians of covering up "criminal networks" for fear of appearing racist.
Starmer also condemned the language used by Musk towards Jess Phillips, a government minister responsible for combating violence against women and girls, whom he called a "rape apologizer" and said she deserved to be in prison.
“When the poison of the far right leads to serious threats against Jess Phillips and others, then, in my opinion, a line has been crossed,” stated Starmer. “I enjoy the back and forth of politics, the robust debate that we must have, but that must be based on facts and truths, not lies.”
Emmanuel Macron joins the criticism against Musk
The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, expressed his concern about Elon Musk's support for the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections.
In a speech addressed to the French ambassadors, Macron pointed out the impact that the actions of influential figures can have on the democratic processes in Europe.
"Ten years ago, if we had been told that the owner of one of the world's largest social networks would support a new reactionary international and directly intervene in elections, even in Germany, who would have imagined it?" stated the president.
On the other hand, the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, also expressed his rejection of Musk’s recent interventions. In an interview published on Saturday by Stern magazine, Scholz described the entrepreneur’s statements as “erratic” and criticized his support for the AfD party, which has gained prominence in the German political landscape.