Italian President Sergio Mattarella sharply rebuked Elon Musk on Wednesday for weighing in on Italian court rulings that have stymied the government's plans to process some asylum-seekers in Albania. Musk, who has been named to a top role in President-elect Trump's new administration, wrote Tuesday on X that "these judges need to go." He was referring to the latest court ruling against right-wing Premier Giorgia Meloni's much-touted Albania immigration deal, the AP reports. "This is unacceptable. Do the people of Italy live in a democracy or does an unelected autocracy make the decisions?" Musk wrote in a subsequent post Wednesday.
Mattarella didn't cite Musk by name but—in an unusually piqued statement — made clear on Wednesday that he was referring to him. Italy's head of state demanded respect for the country's sovereignty. "Italy is a great democratic country and … knows how to take care of itself while respecting its Constitution," Mattarella said in a statement issued by his spokesman. The posts concerned a Rome court's refusal to rule on a formal request to detain seven migrants rescued at sea and transferred to Albania for processing. Monday's ruling resulted in the men being brought to Italy for processing.
Trump announced Tuesday that Musk will help lead a Department of Government Efficiency. Musk is a supporter of Meloni and has met with her in Rome. In September, he joined her at an awards ceremony on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, per the AP. "Anyone, particularly if as announced is about to assume an important role of government in a friendly and allied country, must respect its sovereignty and cannot attribute to himself the task of imparting prescriptions," the president's statement said. (More Elon Musk stories.)
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