ROME (AP) — Italian president Sergio Mattarella sharply reprimanded Elon Musk on Wednesday for the Italian weigh-in judicial decisions which have hampered the government’s plans to host some asylum seekers in Albania.

Musk, who is expected to serve in a top advisory role The new administration of Donald Trumpwrote on X on Tuesday that “these judges have to go.” He referred to the latest ruling of the Italian court Right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s much-vaunted immigration deal with Albania.

“This is unacceptable. Do the Italian people live in a democracy or does an unelected autocracy make the decisions?” he wrote in a subsequent post on Wednesday.

The reports related to a court in Rome’s refusal to rule on a formal request to detain seven migrants who had been rescued at sea and taken to Albania for processing. Monday’s ruling resulted in the men being taken to Italy for treatment.

Mattarella did not mention Musk by name, but made it clear in an unusually irritated statement on Wednesday that he was talking about him. The Italian head of state demanded respect for the country’s sovereignty, especially from other future officials.

“Italy is a great democratic country and knows how to take care of itself while respecting the constitution,” Mattarella said in a statement released by his spokesman.

“Everyone, especially if, as announced, he is about to assume an important role as a government in a friendly and allied country, must respect his sovereignty and cannot ascribe to himself the task of handing out regulations,” said the declaration.

Trump announced on Tuesday that Musk, one of the most influential people around the US president-elect, would help lead a Department of Government Efficiency, essentially an independent advisory panel to eliminate waste and fraud.

Musk is a supporter of Meloni and has met her a few times in Rome, and in September he joined her at an awards ceremony on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Photos of them together made so much news that Musk apparently felt the need to quell speculation, posting: “We are not dating.”

Musk has a history of making provocative statements and sparring with leaders at X. Earlier this year he posted this messages insulting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and said Britain was heading towards civil war. He also collided with a Brazilian Supreme Court judge on freedom of expression, far-right narratives and alleged disinformation about

Later Wednesday, an Italian representative for X, Andrea Stroppa, tweeted what appeared to be a statement from Musk saying he had spoken to Meloni during the day. According to Stroppa’s tweet, Musk “expresses his respect” for Mattarella and the Italian Constitution, but emphasizes his right to freedom of expression.

The courts’ rulings have angered Meloni’s far-right government, which is seeking strategies to ease pressure on Italy due to the arrival of migrants seeking a better life in Europe. The government had considered the opening of the Albanian centers as a central part of its immigration policy, including as a deterrent, and said it a model for Europe.

In both cases, Italian courts have referred the cases to the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg to decide whether the migrants’ countries of origin are considered safe for repatriation. There is no word on when the European Court will rule.

But as a result of the court rulings in Rome, not a single migrant has yet been processed in the Albanian centers, which will cost Italy 670 million euros ($730 million) over five years to build and operate.

Italy’s opposition says the money would be much better spent on strengthening Italian-operated migrant processing centers, while human rights groups say outsourcing asylum processing violates international law.

The centers opened in October after a months-long delay because crumbling soil at one of the facilities needed to be repaired. They are led by Italy and fall under the country’s jurisdiction, while Albanian guards provide external security.