Irish MEP Billy Kelleher, a member of the Fianna Fáil party, has taken to X to berate US tech billionaire Elon Musk after his party’s win in the country’s general election.
Kelleher, a member of the Renew group in the European Parliament, accused Musk of backing a form of “divisive politics”.
“Thankfully, Elon Musk, we’ve built a democratic republic that is free from authoritarianism, extreme nationalism, and far-right ideology,” he wrote on X on December 2.
Ireland voted for freedom in 1918 and fought for it in 1919/22
Thankfully @elonmusk we’ve built a democratic republic that is free from authoritarianism, extreme nationalism, and far right ideology.
We voted on 29 Nov ‘24 and rejected the divisive politics that you espouse. https://t.co/PLR13hmJgE
— Billy Kelleher MEP (@BillyKelleherEU) December 2, 2024
“We voted on 29 Nov ‘24 and rejected the divisive politics that you espouse,” the MEP added.
Responding to Musk’s calls for the Irish to “vote for freedom” during the country’s general election on November 29, Kelleher claimed Ireland had already “voted for freedom in 1918 and fought for it in 1919/22”.
Kelleher’s comments drew criticism online, with many accusing him of betraying the key principles his Fianna Fáil party was founded upon.
Its name broadly translates into English as “Warriors of Destiny” and the party historically served as the political wing of those who rejected an early Irish parliament vote in 1922 to accept a peace treaty with the UK government. That was because they felt the deal would not create a mostly independent Irish free state, nor a fully sovereign Irish republic.
With an attempt violently to overthrow the first Free State government of the island failing in 1923, the party was founded in 1926 with the aim of undermining the Anglo-Irish treaty.
On December 2, Irish free-speech campaigner Gerard Casey asked Kelleher on X: “Didn’t those who fought for freedom in 1919/22 espouse what you would probably regard as a form of ‘extreme nationalism’, and doesn’t the Party of which you are a member have its origins in those very extreme nationalists that refused to accept the democratic parliamentary decision to accept the Treaty?”
Others suggested that former Irish taoiseach (prime minister) and Fianna Fáil leader Seán Lemass (1899-1971) would be “spinning in his grave” at Kelleher’s comments.
The MEP’s attack on Musk was the latest evidence of deteriorating relations between the big tech guru and the Irish Government, with the former’s insistence that freedom of speech be respected across the Western world causing anger in Dublin.
Musk’s opposition to the Irish government’s aim to criminalise certain forms of speech has caused it problems, with the billionaire helping to raise awareness about Dublin’s proposed hate-speech bill last year.
That attention resulted in the bill being heavily truncated, with all references to speech prohibitions removed.
Elon Musk has urged the Irish to “vote for freedom” as ballot boxes open for the country’s general election. https://t.co/v5sQrUQV2y
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) November 29, 2024
