(MENAFN- Asia Times)
Apologies to Karl Marx, but a new“specter is haunting Europe,” and it's not the leftist movement that spooked 19th Century“old Europe,” as Marx called it in his famous treatise“The Communist Manifesto.”
Rather, the threatening specter comes not from a radical left movement but a burgeoning far right, in the alarmed view among the continent's contemporary Political leaders.
And its paladin is not some figure deep within radical circles. Nor is the looming threat even European. Rather, it is Elon Musk, the high-tech wizard and the world's richest man.
In-person and through messages on X, the South African-born Musk has launched a blitzkrieg of political criticism aimed at democratic governments on the continent. He appears to favor far-right, ultra-nationalistic and xenophobic parties, whose growth raises fear of a fascist revival in Europe.
Musk's comments and activities might once have been dismissed as political tantrums from a peculiarly outspoken oligarch. However, he carries a weighty calling card: close association with US President-elect Donald Trump, leader of Europe's most important ally.
Musk made his way into Trump's good graces by showering him with tens of millions of dollars to help finance his election campaign and by appearing at public rallies to cheer on his candidacy.
He has since become an unorthodox member of the future Trump administration, which will formally take power on January 20. With a salary of US$1, Musk has been assigned to find ways to slash US government spending.
He can afford the low pay: he pioneered and runs Tesla, the pioneering electric vehicle maker, SpaceX, a company that makes rockets that launches most US satellites into space, and Starlink, which delivers internet services from low-Earth orbit satellites. He also owns the social media giant X, formerly known as Twitter.
Other American moguls-notably Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg – have gone out of their way to welcome Trump's election and pay obeisance to him by visiting Mar-a-Lago, Trump's sumptuous Florida estate.
Musk, on the other hand, got behind Trump early and took up residence at a Mar-a-Lago suite he reportedly rents for US$2,000 a night.
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