TCanadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's decision this week to resign as leader of the Liberal Party brings the impending general election, which will be held amid political turmoil caused by President Donald Trump's “America” policies. The race for leadership has begun against the backdrop of the Deaf general election. First, there is “economic nationalism.” It also gave Tesla CEO Elon Musk an opportunity to insert himself into yet another country's political turmoil.
Since Prime Minister Trudeau's resignation on Monday, Mr. Musk has repeatedly posted about Canadian politics on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, which he acquired for $44 billion in 2022. He celebrates Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's ouster, interacts with Canada's right-wing influencers, and has praised a video by Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poièvre.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk have promoted the idea of Canada becoming part of the United States, but all major Canadian party leaders, including Mr. Poilievre, reject this idea. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted on Tuesday that there is “no snowball effect” for President Trump's proposal to become a reality.
“Miss, you're no longer the Governor of Canada, so it doesn't matter what you say,” Musk tweeted late Tuesday night.
Musk's post symbolizes a widening of his attempts to influence global politics over the past year, during which he has allied himself with a number of right-wing populist leaders and sought to influence far-right influence. It has expanded its power and persistently voiced conservative dissatisfaction. After spending more than $200 million to support President Trump's reelection campaign, he positioned himself as a key figure in determining U.S. policy and forcing foreign leaders to take Trump's provocations seriously. Ta.
Outside the United States, most of Mr. Musk's attention has been focused on the United Kingdom, where he has recently reignited the uproar over a child sex abuse scandal while promoting anti-immigration views, calling Prime Minister Keir Starmer a “rapist.” “I'm doing it,” he accused. British”. Mr. Musk is also exerting influence on Germany's upcoming elections. Supports far-right, anti-immigration AfD party In an editorial, he hosted leader Alice Weidel for a livestream interview on his platform.
Musk's meddling in European politics has prompted leaders in Britain, France and Germany to speak out against his election interference and misinformation. Now it looks like it's Canada's turn to deal with the world's richest man.
While Musk remains in the background, Prime Minister Trudeau's Liberal Party is likely to hold a leadership election to replace Musk as prime minister, followed by a general election soon after.
Enliven Poièvre
In a series of posts after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigned, Musk expressed support for Poièvre, whose Conservative Party is widely expected to dominate Canada's general election after three years in Liberal government. There is. Musk's posts to his more than 200 million followers have already drawn comments from major political party leaders, highlighting how important he is as the country faces this year's political turmoil. Indicates whether it has the potential to become an element.
Canada's left-wing NDP leader Jagmeet Singh responded to Musk's tweet, saying, “Elon Musk and other billionaires support Pierre Poièvre because if he wins, they will… Because it will make you richer,” he posted.
In the days of Poilievre Asked about support for Mr. Musk “It would be great if we could convince Mr. Musk to open some factories here in Canada,” he said at a press conference Thursday. He also mentioned Musk's ambitions for space travel.
“My 3-year-old son wants to go to Mars, so I think Mr. Musk is the right person to reach out to him,” Poièvre said. “If I had a chance to meet with Mr. Musk, I would say, 'How can we create an economy that brings hundreds of billions of dollars of investment back to Canada?'”
Mr. Poièvre fits the mold of other conservative politicians who have appealed to Mr. Musk. He was once known as a combative, baby-faced lawmaker nicknamed “Skippy” by other members of Congress, but in recent years he has ditched his glasses and tie and taken on a more populist personality. Poilievre, an Alberta native, has positioned himself as an opponent of “Prime Minister Trudeau's woke authoritarian policies.” used for conspiratorial rhetoric About “Globalist Elite” and Promises to reduce immigration While blaming the Liberal Party for economic inflation.
Many of Poièvre's points revolve around the adoption of virtual currencies, cuts to government funding, and a new punitive government position with the power to withhold government subsidies to universities that don't protect free speech. It's reminiscent of ideas that Musk himself might promote, such as creating a “guardian of the world.” We are committed to protecting freedom of speech on campus. Poilievre also Support ban on trans women It promised to cut funding from women's bathrooms, locker rooms and sports, and cut funding to Canada's national public broadcaster and news organizations.
Musk posted a 2023 clip of Poièvre eating an apple while disdainfully answering questions from a local news editor, calling it a “masterpiece.” The billionaire also praised Poièvre's video talking about spending cuts and inflation. In a third post, Musk tweeted, “Great interview,” sharing Poilievre's remarks. Talking with right-wing commentator Jordan PetersonIn it, the Conservative leader promised “the biggest crackdown on crime in Canadian history.” Mr Poièvre's interview with Mr Peterson drew condemnation from both the Liberal Party and the NDP over the fact that it was sponsored by a US-based Christian anti-abortion group.
According to opinion polls taken before Prime Minister Trudeau resigned, the Conservative Party has great advantages And Canada this year, even if Last month's survey It has been shown that only 37% of Canadians view Poièvre himself favorably.
Despite Musk's support, Poièvre may also face a balancing act over how closely to work with Trump, who remains an unpopular figure in Canada. According to a public opinion poll during the US presidential election, Only 21% of Canadians support it While Trump was re-elected, another poll in November showed that About 19% of Canadians trust Musk's opinion. about their country's politics.
After newsletter promotion
Musk amplifies Canadian ideologues
As in the U.S., many of the Canadian political accounts Musk is associated with tend to be respected conservative media influencers, which Musk spreads to his millions of followers. are.
In one post this week, Musk shared misleading claims about Trudeau from far-right media entrepreneur Ezra Levant, which were later corrected by a community note. Levant publishes the website Rebel News, whose contributors include British anti-Muslim extremist Tommy Robinson, Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes and former top commentators. face goldiewas fired after appearing on a neo-Nazi podcast. Musk also exchanged tweets with Lauren Southern, an early “alt-right” Canadian influencer and former Rebel Media host who gained notoriety by creating anti-immigrant YouTube videos. promote of white supremacist “The Great Successor” conspiracy theory.
Jordan Peterson is another Canadian touchstone for Musk. In addition to sharing Peterson interviews with Poièvre and exchanging the occasional tweet, Musk appeared on Peterson's show last year. In it, the tech mogul claimed that his transgender child “died” after receiving gender-affirming care and was “killed by a wake-up mind virus.” . Vivian Wilson, Musk's transgender daughter, responded that Musk's characterization was wrong and that her father was absent.
Musk also frequently interacts with Canadian marketing professor Gad Saad at X. Gad Saad has developed an online following through his books and podcast appearances attacking what he calls “the parasitic ideas that are destroying the Western world.”
“I read your insightful book on the parasitic wake-mind virus,” Musk tweeted on Third last year. “It gave me nightmares.”
Musk celebrates Prime Minister Trudeau's resignation
While Mr. Musk has expressed support for Mr. Poièvre, he is relishing Mr. Trudeau's fall from grace. On Wednesday, he shared an AI-generated meme of Donald Trump playing a sad violin in the background of Trudeau's resignation speech, and also responded to an old tweet of his own in which he predicted Trudeau would lose power. did.
Musk has expressed opposition to Trudeau multiple times in recent years over issues such as COVID-19 safety restrictions, most notably in 2022 when he shared a meme comparing Trudeau to Hitler. It was. Musk deleted the tweet after being criticized by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Holocaust Museum, but as recently as December he again called for Trudeau's political ouster.
Prime Minister Trudeau had been a target of right-wing media long before the Musk attack, with far-right commentators such as former Fox News host Tucker Carlson portraying him as some kind of socialist dictator and of Canada as a dystopian hellscape. He dedicated a corner to drawing like this.
Within Canada, the reasons for Trudeau's resignation are more complex. Although he maintained a progressive glow internationally, many Canadians across the political spectrum came to find Mr. Trudeau's personality sinister and hypocritical. domestic scandal. Rising cost of living, inflation and fatigue with the minority Liberal government lost significant support from his party. The recent collapse of the cabinet, the failure of last year's by-elections and the threat of a no-confidence vote ended up being a death sentence for his leadership.
Source: www.theguardian.com
