Most, however, choose to continue suffering his diatribes in silence

Most, however, choose to continue suffering his diatribes in silence

- Jonathan Eyal

Mr Elon Musk, the world's wealthiest man and close friend of US President-elect Donald Trump, has intensified his meddling in European politics by broadcasting a lengthy conversation with the leader of Germany's far-right party on his X social media platform.

The discussion between Mr Musk and Ms Alice Weidel, who heads the racist and virulently anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (or AfD, as it is known by its German-language abbreviation), was beamed during the late hours of Jan 9 in Europe.

The event generated few surprises. It was a wooden discussion, amounting to little more than a tedious repetition of old far-right themes and arguments.

The 75-minute talk quickly ran out of steam. "Do we have any more questions?" a puzzled Mr Musk asked Ms Weidel halfway through.

Still, with Germany's general election scheduled for February, Mr Musk's latest interventions - coming after he meddled in British politics - are rattling all European governments.

The leaders of the continent's three most populous countries are weighing in, with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and French President Emmanuel Macron all criticising Mr Musk's interventions.

Yet, the most significant questions facing European countries are whether Mr Musk plans to follow his words with deeds by pledging his considerable financial resources to various European extremist political causes, and whether the American tech tycoon's behaviour enjoys the support of Trump.

Mr Musk's far-right political sympathies have never been a secret.

Until recently, however, he has primarily confined his public political interventions to the occasional dismissive remark about Europe's allegedly dismal economic prospects or complaints about the continent's business-stifling bureaucracy.