Sergio Mattarella has criticized the tech billionaire for commenting on the country’s immigration policies
Italian President Sergio Mattarella has hit out at Elon Musk after the tech mogul weighed in on the debate about the EU nation’s migrant policies. Italy “can take care” of itself while the billionaire “cannot give himself the task” of issuing advice, Mattarella claimed.
In a series of posts on X on Tuesday, Musk attacked Italian judges, saying that they were wrong to challenge Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s plans to spend an estimated $850 million to transfer asylum seekers from Italy to newly built processing centers in neighboring Albania.
“These judges need to go,” Musk wrote, referring to Roman officials who on Monday put on hold Meloni’s initiative, which is aimed at tackling illegal immigration.
The Rome immigration court has overturned the detention and transfer of seven migrants rescued at sea and shipped to Albania for processing, resulting in the men being brought to Italy instead.
“This is unacceptable. Do the people of Italy live in a democracy or does an unelected autocracy make the decisions?” Musk wrote in a subsequent post on Wednesday.
The billionaire’s barbs, issued shortly before US President-elect Donald Trump had appointed him to lead a body “to dismantle government bureaucracy,” drew a sharp response in a post on X by the Italian head of state.
While not citing the tech mogul by name, Mattarella made clear that he was referring to Musk, writing: “Italy is a great democratic country and … knows how to take care of itself while respecting its Constitution.”
“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,” the statement read.
Musk issued a response via his Italian representative, expressing “respect” for Mattarella and Italy’s constitution, but reaffirming his intention to “continue to freely express his opinions.”
The entrepreneur said he had conveyed the same message in a “friendly” call with Meloni, adding he “hopes for increasingly strong ties between the United States and Italy and looks forward to a future meeting with President Mattarella.”
Musk’s remarks come as Meloni’s government has been angered by judicial setbacks for Italy’s agreement to outsource the processing of some asylum applications to Albania. The immigration policy has been touted as a solution for Italy and a model for the EU.
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