"Ridiculous"

Meloni denies Starlink agreement with Musk

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Elon Musk

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/Michelle Farsi)

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni denied on Thursday that her government had signed a billion-dollar contract with Elon Musk's SpaceX. "I am quite amazed at how some fake news is floating around even after it has been denied, as in the case of the denied contract with SpaceX," Meloni said. 

"Doing favors for friends is not my style. I only ever consider the national interest. And I have never spoken personally with Musk about these matters," Meloni said at a press conference in Rome. She also emphasized: "I do not receive any money from Musk".

Opposition parties criticize Starlink project
The Starlink project, which is reportedly worth 1.5 billion euros and will extend over five years, has been sharply criticized by the opposition parties. They question whether the handling of strategic communication systems should be entrusted to a Musk company and accused Meloni of jeopardizing Italy's national security.

Specifically, the SpaceX project involves communication services for the Italian army in the Mediterranean region as well as the introduction of so-called direct satellite services, which are to be used in emergencies such as terrorist attacks or natural disasters. Improved internet connections in Italy through the use of Musk satellites are already being discussed.

On Monday, 47-year-old Meloni denied that contracts had been signed or deals discussed with the billionaire during her visit to US President-elect Donald Trump in Florida at the weekend, where Musk was also present. She had described such reports as "ridiculous".

Meloni attacks philanthropist Soros
"Elon Musk is a very well-known and wealthy person who speaks his mind. Is he a danger to democracy? I have seen many well-known and rich people express their opinions. The problem for democracy is that wealthy people use their funds to finance parties, politicians and associations around the world in order to influence the political decisions of the country in question. I am not aware of Musk funding parties, politicians or associations, (US philanthropist of Hungarian descent George) Soros does, and here I see a dangerous interference," said Meloni - probably failing to recognize that Musk (through organizations) was one of the biggest financial supporters of Donald Trump's election campaign.

"Is the problem that Musk is influential and rich, or that he is not a leftist?" asked the Prime Minister, addressing the opposition parties. "I don't accept money from Elon Musk, I don't see any danger to democracy," the head of government reiterated.