The dust hasn’t even settled after Trump’s election win last year, politicians around the world were already gearing up for their charm-offensives to establish good ties with the incoming administration.
For some, it was easier.
Some of the big guns, those who either stood at Trump’s (virtual) side also through the last four years or those who are at least sharing some common values with him or with his new efficiency tsar, Elon Musk, have already paid a visit to Mar-a-Lago. Think Hungary’s Viktor Orbán or Italy’s Giorgia Meloni.
Or, sans an invitation to the posh golf establishment, they resorted to inviting the past/future president to themselves, thus happened that Trump stood side-by-side with Emmanuel Macron during the reopening of the Notre Dame.
The rest is still trying to figure out how to adapt to Trump 2.0, reinforced by the tech savvy and rather vocal billionaire.
After all, it is not Trump, rather not only Trump, but Elon Musk who has already crossed swords with several European leaders (without even having started to work for the incoming administration).
Musk’s active-aggressive political campaign (in cases bordering interference) has left Europe’s politicians at unease, prompting different attempts to limit his political influence. Think Germany, just ahead of an election, where Musk raised hackles by claiming that the AfD was the country’s only chance.
That didn’t stop him from having his eyes at big investments around Europe, though, like a €1.5 billion SpaceX deal in Italy, providing top-level encryption services to the public sector.
Some experts claim that his heightened interest in Germany’s future also has more to do with his plans for a Tesla mega-factory near Berlin than with his worries about migration. Putting pressure on the governments to shape policies benefiting his companies.
In other parts of the world, his engagement seems more economic, without political undertones. In Mexico, Mr. Musk had talks with Samuel Garcia, the right-wing governor of Nuevo León about a potential Tesla manufacturing plant in Monterrey. He has met former president Jair Bolsonaro (to celebrate the introduction of Starlink) and President Javier Milei, to endorse his economic policies and suggesting investment in the country. He could also fit India, South Africa and China into his busy schedule, having had meetings with Prime Minister Modi, President Cyril Ramaphosa and Chinese Premier Li Qiang, respectively.
The topic of those meetings? Investment opportunities and regulatory questions. Musk’s hopes about investments in China seem to be at loggerheads with Trump’s strict anti-China views, though – but it is the question of the nearby future how the two solve their conflicts. Neither is Trump in need of alienating one of the staunchest allies of the U.S. in Europe, the United Kingdom – yet, Musk’s increasing political activism there
While there are some doubts how long the Trump-Musk bromance can last (you know, no castle can have two kings), also within the president elect’s closest entourage, right now, the two seem to be inseparable, even amidst accusations of conflict-of-interest: for example when it comes to Musk’s lucrative contracts with the American government (at a staggering $15.4 billion over the past decade) – supposedly under government oversight, of course, but now, the very same agency will be led by Musk himself.
During the last decade, Musk has increasingly embraced conservative stances on issues such as migration, family, diversity and gender issues. While his interventions seem to benefit his business interests, his support is directed towards right-wing parties around Europe, sharing his political and ideological beliefs. His rightward shift put him on collision course with the Democrats at home (and liberals around the world), who now consider the once-wonder-child-and-genius as a public enemy, while securing him a seat in Mar-a-Lago meetings with Trump whom he once asked to ‘sail into the sunset’, because he was ‘too much drama’.
Thus, for now, Trump and Musk share many common views – and, as we know, Trump isn’t worried about a possible President Musk, as the billionaire was not born in the U.S. – but there are already clouds on the horizon, if the rumours are true about Trump being irritated by the Tesla CEO’s constant presence and growing influence.
The picture will get clearer after Trump’s inauguration: whether Musk was allowed to shine and test the waters (for example in the EU that is struggling with its own set of problems) until Trump wasn’t allowed to as president elect or there is some agreement on shared roles, in sort of a good cop-bad cop way among the two, aided and abetted by a complex interplay of economic, political and ideological issues. A friend in control of one of the largest social media platforms is a great asset, after all: House Speaker Mike Johnson learned it the hard way when Trump authorized Musk to ‘trash on X’ his plan to avoid a government shutdown.
But, as the UK’s Nigel Farage has recently learned (or, as the Democrats suffered the same fate in 2022) Musk can easily throw even his allies under the bus when their interests (and egos) collide.
Either way, the world will know in a couple of months.
On the other hand, as with most things, there is a grain of truth in what Elon Musk said about the EU and European institutions, including their penchant for bureaucratic or ideological overreach (hiding behind the ‘magical’ spill-over effect), their occasional interesting interpretation of ‘democracy’ and should at least be taken as ‘wake up calls’ for Europe.
Not to satisfy Musk, but to represent the true interests of their own citizens.
