Italian President Criticizes Musk
Italian President Sergio Mattarella has criticized Elon Musk for expressing his views on a national issue. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
Italian President Sergio Mattarella has taken issue with Elon Musk after the tech billionaire commented on Italy’s immigration policies. Mattarella asserted that Italy “can take care” of itself and emphasized that Musk “cannot give himself the task” of offering advice.
In a series of posts on X, Musk criticized Italian judges for contesting Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s proposal to allocate about $850 million for transferring asylum seekers from Italy to newly established processing centers in Albania.
Musk stated, “These judges need to go,” in reference to Roman officials who paused Meloni’s plan aimed at addressing illegal immigration.
The immigration court in Rome recently overturned the detention and transfer of seven migrants who had been rescued at sea and sent to Albania for processing, leading to their return to Italy instead.
Musk further expressed his frustration on Wednesday, asking, “Do the people of Italy live in a democracy or does an unelected autocracy make the decisions?”
His comments, which came just before US President-elect Donald Trump appointed him to lead a body “to dismantle government bureaucracy,” provoked a notable reaction from Mattarella on X.
While not explicitly naming Musk, Mattarella responded, stating, “Italy is a great democratic country and … knows how to take care of itself while respecting its Constitution.”
He further remarked, “Anyone, particularly if as announced is about to assume an important role of government in a friendly and allied country, must respect its sovereignty and cannot attribute to himself the task of imparting prescriptions.”
In response, Musk, through his Italian representative, conveyed “respect” for Mattarella and Italy’s constitution, while reaffirming his desire to “continue to freely express his opinions.”
He also mentioned having shared the same message during a “friendly” call with Meloni, expressing hope for stronger ties between the United States and Italy and looking forward to a future meeting with President Mattarella.
Musk's comments come amid frustration within Meloni's government, triggered by legal challenges to Italy’s strategy of outsourcing some asylum application processes to Albania, which has been promoted as a potential solution for Italy and a model for the EU.
Lucas Dupont contributed to this report for TROIB News
In a series of posts on X, Musk criticized Italian judges for contesting Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s proposal to allocate about $850 million for transferring asylum seekers from Italy to newly established processing centers in Albania.
Musk stated, “These judges need to go,” in reference to Roman officials who paused Meloni’s plan aimed at addressing illegal immigration.
The immigration court in Rome recently overturned the detention and transfer of seven migrants who had been rescued at sea and sent to Albania for processing, leading to their return to Italy instead.
Musk further expressed his frustration on Wednesday, asking, “Do the people of Italy live in a democracy or does an unelected autocracy make the decisions?”
His comments, which came just before US President-elect Donald Trump appointed him to lead a body “to dismantle government bureaucracy,” provoked a notable reaction from Mattarella on X.
While not explicitly naming Musk, Mattarella responded, stating, “Italy is a great democratic country and … knows how to take care of itself while respecting its Constitution.”
He further remarked, “Anyone, particularly if as announced is about to assume an important role of government in a friendly and allied country, must respect its sovereignty and cannot attribute to himself the task of imparting prescriptions.”
In response, Musk, through his Italian representative, conveyed “respect” for Mattarella and Italy’s constitution, while reaffirming his desire to “continue to freely express his opinions.”
He also mentioned having shared the same message during a “friendly” call with Meloni, expressing hope for stronger ties between the United States and Italy and looking forward to a future meeting with President Mattarella.
Musk's comments come amid frustration within Meloni's government, triggered by legal challenges to Italy’s strategy of outsourcing some asylum application processes to Albania, which has been promoted as a potential solution for Italy and a model for the EU.
Lucas Dupont contributed to this report for TROIB News
