It didn’t take long for Elon Musk to be accused of meddling in Italy’s domestic affairs.
The tech billionaire’s declaration that “these judges need to go,” splashed across all of Italy’s front pages, came amidst increasing tension between Italy’s ruling coalition and the judiciary after a panel of Rome magistrates questioned the legality of a government initiative to detain asylum-seekers in Albania.
Musk prompted a highly unusual statement from Italian President Sergio Mattarella, who told him not to interfere in Italian affairs.
“Italy is a great democratic country and… knows how to take care of itself,” said Mattarella.
“Anyone, particularly if, as announced, he is about to assume an important government role in a friendly and allied country, must respect its sovereignty and cannot take it upon himself to issue instructions.”
Musk, who owns Tesla and X, has recently been picked by Donald Trump to head up his planned new Department of Government Efficiency.
He has also developed close ties with Giorgia Meloni since she was elected over two years ago on the promise of cracking down on illegal migration.
Two processing centres in Albania, built and managed by the Italian government to help manage the migrant flow in the Mediterranean towards Italy, soon became the symbol of her hard stance on migration.
But delays in the project, legal hurdles and human rights concerns, as well as doubts about cost-effectiveness, have undermined its success so far.
Last week a Rome court ordered the transfer of seven Egyptian and Bangladeshi asylum seekers from one of the two centres to Italy.
The court had already ruled last month against the detention of other migrants from the same countries in Albania, a decision that the Italian prime minister had labelled “prejudicial”.
The two centres are currently empty, and Italian authorities are scaling back the number of staff on the ground.
Since then, the debate in Italy has become increasingly heated, with Meloni and other members of her government regularly attacking the country’s judiciary, until Musk also weighed in.
The legal controversy revolves around an October ruling by the EU’s Court of Justice (ECJ), stating that no country of origin can be deemed safe if any part of it is dangerous.
This poses further challenges to Italy’s policy of repatriating migrants without visas.
While the ruling referred to a Czech case, it also applies to the entire EU and complicates Italy’s plans for detention centres in Albania meant to fast-track repatriations.
The Rome court has halted these actions pending further clarification from the ECJ.
The project has attracted the attention of several leaders, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who are themselves seeking to stem illegal migration.
During an official visit last September, Starmer praised Meloni’s “remarkable progress” on tackling irregular arrivals by sea, while Meloni said her counterpart showed “great interest” in her country’s deal with Albania.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called for the exploration of “return hubs” outside the EU. In a letter to European leaders on irregular migration, she cited the deal between Italy and Albania as a potential model.
Several observers, however, have raised concerns over the actual impact of these centres, should they ever start operating at full capacity.
“Aside from the delays in the implementation of the operation, I view the project as a distraction from more pressing issues that should be on the agenda, such as better allocation of funds and the creation of a functioning asylum system overall,” said Alberto-Horst Neidhardt, a senior policy analyst at the European Policy Centre in Brussels.
“Regardless of whether it works or not, this is just a drop in the ocean.”
Italy’s incendiary political discourse shows no sign of dying down.The judiciary here has been accused of obstructing government before.
Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who was charged with violation of antitrust law, money laundering, and tax fraud and faced prosecution for several other crimes over the years, repeatedly attacked judges, calling them “communist”.
Meloni’s coalition partner, Matteo Salvini, echoed his words saying judges who twisted Italy’s laws should resign and go into politics with the “refounded communists”.
“Demonising those whose role is to ensure that the law is upheld could pose a real danger,” Neidhardt warned.
According to Italian reports, Meloni and Musk have since spoken about the controversy. Musk is said to have expressed his respect for the Italian president, a report confirmed by Andrea Stroppa, a close confidant of Musk in Italy.
Stroppa, however, added that Musk also “emphasises that freedom of speech is protected by the First Amendment and the Italian constitution itself; therefore, as a citizen, he will continue to freely express his opinions”.