Pedro Sánchez has hit out at Elon Musk and his allies for “openly attacking our institutions, inciting hatred and openly calling for people to support the heirs of nazism”, saying the politics of division, disinformation and hatred risk ushering in a new age of authoritarianism.
Speaking in Madrid on Wednesday as Spain prepares to mark the 50th anniversary in November of the death of General Franco and the country’s subsequent return to democracy, the Spanish prime minister said hard-won, basic freedoms could not, and should not, be taken for granted.
“When you’ve spent your life under its protective veil, it’s easy to forget the enormous strengths of democracy and to let yourself be seduced by those who promise people order, security and wealth in exchange for robbing us of the most precious thing a person can have, which is the power to choose our own destiny,” he said.
The socialist leader said it was clear that autocratic regimes and values of the last century were on the rise again across the world – not least in the shape of Musk and his ilk.
“The fascism that we thought we’d left behind is now the third biggest political force in Europe,” said Sánchez. “And, as President Macron [of France] said only a few days ago, the international reactionary movement – or the international far-right movement that we’ve been warning about for years in Spain – which is being led in this case by the richest man on the planet, is openly attacking our institutions, inciting hatred and openly calling for people to support the heirs of nazism in Germany in the forthcoming elections that will be held in Europe’s most important economy.”
If history teaches us anything, he said, it is that “freedom is never won on a permanent basis” and that democracy could be snuffed out again in parts of the world.
Sánchez said the best way to defend and strengthen Spain’s democracy was to build “a more prosperous, cohesive, free and tolerant society” and to fight lies and fake news. “Lies and disinformation are the main weapons of the enemies of democracy,” he said.
Sánchez is the latest European leader to speak out against Musk’s attempts to influence the continent’s political direction.
Emmanuel Macron said on Monday: “Ten years ago, who would have imagined that the owner of one of the world’s largest social networks would be supporting a new international reactionary movement and intervening directly in elections, including in Germany.”
The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, has also condemned Musk’s attacks on the government, suggesting his “lies and misinformation” on grooming gangs were amplifying the “poison” of the far right.
Sánchez, announcing a year-long programme of events to mark the beginning of Spain’s return to democracy, said the idea was to celebrate the country’s transformation over the past five decades, to honour all those who made it possible and to teach young people about the importance of democracy.
“Fifty years ago, Spain began to work towards freedom, emerging from the ashes of the last dictatorship in western Europe,” he said. “Our mothers and fathers, our grandmothers and grandfathers – and we ourselves – helped forge one of the most complete and prosperous democracies on the planet, the democracy we are today. Let’s celebrate it and let’s use it to build another 50 years of progress and freedom.”
The recently announced initiative, however, has failed to secure universal political support. Wednesday’s launch was boycotted by the conservative People’s party (PP) and the far-right Vox party, both of which have accused Sánchez of playing politics with the past to distract from the corruption allegations his administration faces.
The PP’s leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, pointedly skipped the event in favour of a visit to the eastern region of Valencia, which is still recovering from the disastrous floods late last year in which 232 people died. The PP, which rules the region, has been heavily criticised for its handling of the disaster, and for the fact that the regional president enjoyed a three-hour lunch with a journalist on the day the floods devastated many towns and villages.
“Sánchez is with Franco, Feijóo is with the people of Valencia,” PP sources said.
Vox has accused the government of squandering public money on the anniversary and using the past to partisan ends. “We won’t take part in this absurd necrophilia that divides Spaniards,” the party said.
King Felipe, whose father, Juan Carlos, helped steer Spain back to democracy despite being groomed as Franco’s successor, was also absent from the launch as he was receiving the credentials of six new ambassadors.
