Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has criticized the growing financial and political influence of major technology companies and billionaires, arguing that wealth should not translate into the power to shape electoral outcomes or public policy.

Citing Elon Musk’s reported spending of hundreds of millions of dollars in an attempt to influence the midterm election race in Texas, Mitsotakis said: “You can’t buy an election, no matter how rich you are.”

He made the remarks during a conversation with portrait and documentary photographer Platon, ahead of the opening of the photographer’s People Power exhibition at Athens’ Benaki Museum on Thursday.

The discussion also addressed the question of accountability for individuals wielding enormous financial and political influence, with Mitsotakis questioning whether their interventions in public life stem from ideological convictions or an effort to shape policies in their own interests.

“Most likely the latter,” he suggested, linking such efforts to attempts to weaken regulation and oversight.

Source: Ekathimerini.com