President Sergio Mattarella asked Elon Musk on Wednesday not to interfere in Italian affairs after the American billionaire said Rome judges who block a government anti-immigration initiative should be expelled.
The highly unusual statement from the Italian head of state came against the backdrop of growing tension between the ruling coalition and the judiciary, which attracted the attention of Musk, a friend of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
“These judges have to go,” Musk wrote on X on Tuesday, referring to a panel of Rome judges who questioned the legality of a government initiative to detain asylum seekers in Albania — a measure aimed at discouraging irregular migration.
The judges’ decision means that a small group of migrants who had just been transferred to Albania must be transferred to Italy, casting doubt on Meloni’s master plan to stamp out illegal arrivals.
Musk’s comment made the front pages of Italian newspapers on Wednesday, and came just hours before US President-elect Donald Trump gave him a leadership role aimed at creating a more efficient government in the United States.
“Italy is a great democracy… and it knows how to take care of itself,” said Mattarella, who consistently tops opinion polls as Italy’s most respected leader.
“Anyone, especially if, as he declared, he is about to assume an important role in the governance of a friendly and allied nation, must respect its sovereignty and cannot assign himself to the task of issuing its instructions.”
In response, Musk issued a statement through his Italian representative Andrea Stroppa, expressing his “respect” for Mattarella and the Italian constitution, but reaffirming his intention to “continue to express his views freely.”
Musk said he conveyed the same message in a “friendly” call with Meloni. He also expressed hope that Italian-American relations would grow stronger and said he looked forward to meeting Mattarella soon.
While Meloni did not comment on the American businessman’s comments on social media, Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the far-right party, Matteo Salvini, welcomed them. “@elonmusk is right,” he said on X on Tuesday.
The European Union Court takes center stage
The controversy revolves around a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union in October, which said that no country of origin could be considered safe if part of it was dangerous – a position that raised questions about Italy’s policy of trying to repatriate refugees. Immigrants without a visa to their countries of origin.
The ECJ ruling referred to a Czech case but applies to the entire EU, and was issued while Meloni’s government was building detention centers in Albania tasked with processing migrants picked up at sea while trying to reach Italy.
The centers are intended to speed up repatriations, but the Rome court said this should not happen before the European Court of Justice provides further clarification.
As a result, the two small groups of migrants transferred to Albania in the past three weeks were almost immediately transferred to Italy, leaving the scheme in a legal limbo.
Italy’s Supreme Court is scheduled to review the legality of the Rome court’s move in early December, but the final say will likely remain with the European Court of Justice, legal experts say.
A European Court of Justice official said on Wednesday that the Luxembourg-based court may take at least months or weeks to clarify whether Italy can legally return migrants to countries it considers safe, such as Egypt, Tunisia and Bangladesh.