Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has publicly stated his appreciation for X, the social media platform owned by US tech billionaire Elon Musk.
In a post to his X account on December 8, Nehammer lauded what he called the “valuable contribution” X made to enabling people to express both freedom of speech and freedom of opinion.
Nehammer had previously met Musk when they both attended the inauguration of the restored Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on December 7. The Austrian leader also said he had discussed economic policy issues with the tech mogul.
Nehammer’s comments were in contrast to European leaders who have generally been critical of social media platforms, especially X, in the past.
German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) heavily criticised the platform in a speech in November 2024. He alleged that X’s “artificial intelligence [was controlling] the algorithms in a way that manipulates public opinion”. Musk responded by calling Habeck a “fool” in a short X post in German.
Nehammer’s praise for Musk’s platform has been met with disdain from the Austrian Left. Christian Rainer, former editor-in-chief of the news magazine Profil, called Nehammer’s remarks “a joke” on X on December 8.
Many left-leaning Austrian journalists have recently quit X amid great fanfare in a co-ordinated move, alleging that the platform had been subverted by right-wing extremists.
The Austrian Chancellor’s post, though, was also criticised by the Right. Martin Sellner, a well-known right-wing activist, accused Nehammer of being a “turncoat” for his attempt to pander to Musk and the incoming US Republican administration, with whom the SpaceX chief has been appointed to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency.
In Austria, Nehammer is trying to retain power following his Conservative ÖVP party’s poor performance in the September elections.
In order to keep the election winner, the right-wing Freedom Party, out of power and stay in office, he is now negotiating a coalition government with the Social Democrats. They are led by Andreas Babler, a self-declared Marxist.
On December 10, one of Babler’s advisers, Natascha Strobl, accused Nehammer of being a Musk “fanboy” and used his remarks to call for tighter EU regulation of X and other social media platforms.
