Meloni's challenge: Keeping Trump onside with Europe and Ukraine
European leaders hope that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will persuade U.S. President Donald Trump not to impose tariffs on the EU and to continue supporting Ukraine, writes the "Financial Times" on Thursday. Meloni's party has long maintained contacts with Republicans in the U.S. and the Trump world.
"During Donald Trump’s first term in office, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni was a fringe far-right politician, who ardently admired the US president but wielded little clout at home — let alone in Europe. Now, European leaders are counting on Meloni — a "fantastic woman", according to Trump — to persuade the US president to hold back on his threat to hit the EU with tariffs to force it to spend more on defence and American energy," claims Amy Kazmin, a columnist for the British newspaper.
The author notes that the Italian was the only EU country leader at the inauguration of the new U.S. president. Even before the swearing-in, she visited him at his Mar-a-Lago residence. Meloni then discussed with Trump the release of an Italian journalist from Iranian detention, which was hailed as her "diplomatic victory."
The "FT" emphasizes that Meloni's party, the Brothers of Italy, has long maintained contacts with Republicans in the U.S. and the Trump world. In 2018, Trump's then-chief strategist, Steve Bannon, was the guest of honour at the party's congress.
Meloni herself has maintained strong private and political relationships with billionaire Elon Musk for several years, who has taken the lead in the new U.S. administration's "Department of State Efficiency" (DOGE).
"Meloni may weaken Europe's position"
However, according to Beniamino Irdi from the Atlantic Council think tank, Meloni may have difficulty playing the role of European envoy in talks with Trump. "It’s unclear how much interest Trump has in cultivating a real relationship with Europe. He has always had a tendency to prefer bilateral relations with nation states that actually have the authority and power to make things happen," he explained.
Former Italian representative to NATO Stefano Stefanini believes that Meloni may even weaken Europe's position about the U.S. "By having a successful bilateral relationship with Washington, Meloni can show other European leaders that it is the best way to deal with the Trump administration... not through Brussels," claims the diplomat.
