The Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, meeting with the elected President of the United States, Donald Trump, at his residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida
When the U.S. Senator J.D. Vance met with Volodymyr Zelensky on February 28, leading European leaders defended the Ukrainian president. However, there was a striking silence: Giorgia Meloni, the Prime Minister of Italy and leader of the far-right party Brothers of Italy, refrained from speaking out. This was not the first time. Days earlier, when Vance criticized European values at the Munich Security Conference, Meloni also said not a word. And so, while Donald Trump strained the relationship between the United States, Europe, and Ukraine, she remained comfortably in the shadows of silence.
But the silence was not indifference. Just a week later, on February 22, Meloni joined the Republican Convention in Washington via videoconference and aligned herself with Vance. "The elites were outraged because an American came to teach them lessons, but if they had shown the same pride when Europe lost its strategic autonomy, we would now live in a stronger continent," she declared, receiving a standing ovation.
Meloni is playing a complex game. While in Europe she avoids clashing with majority positions, in Washington, she reinforces her role as a strategic ally of Trump. Her relationship with the former U.S. president goes beyond politics: she also maintains a close friendship with Elon Musk. Unlike Jordan Bardella, leader of the French far-right, who canceled his appearance at the Republican convention after Steve Bannon's Nazi salute, Meloni stood firm. To her, the bond with Trump is a priority.
A privileged interlocutor for Trump in the EU
In a context of rising tensions between Washington and Brussels, Meloni seeks to position herself as a bridge between both sides of the Atlantic. It is not an easy role. While Trump is seen in Europe as a destabilizing factor, Meloni has managed to maintain a good relationship with key EU leaders, including the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. Since taking office, she has skillfully navigated that thin line between the European establishment and populist far-right.
But the balance could soon be shaken. The trade war between the United States and Europe is already underway, with the tariffs on steel and aluminum that Washington imposed and the EU's response with retaliations worth €26 billion. Italy, after Germany, is one of the most exposed countries: 22.2% of its exports outside the bloc go to the U.S., and the economic impact could be devastating, affecting key sectors such as wine, olive oil, and luxury fashion.
A foot on each side of the conflict
When Meloni finally referred to her meeting with Trump, two days later, at the European summit in London, her speech was calculated: "We cannot fall into the mistake of dividing the West." She called to avoid emotional stances and to "reason strategically." In other words, any initiative without Trump seems to her an error.
Her position caused discomfort in Rome when Macron traveled to Washington on February 24, assuming the European leadership in the relationship with Biden. Already at the summit called by the French a week earlier in Paris, Meloni made her discomfort clear: she arrived late and avoided the group photo, a gesture interpreted as an attempt to distance herself from the anti-Trump front.
Meanwhile, a rearmament plan is advancing in the EU, which Meloni observed with coldness. In the European Parliament, her allies from Forza Italia supported it, Matteo Salvini's League rejected it, and Brothers of Italy voted in favor, but with reservations. In Rome, the Prime Minister faces internal pressures, especially from Salvini, who seeks to differentiate himself and present himself as the true voice of pacifist far-right.
Diplomacy or ideological alignment
Meloni insists that her approach to Trump is pure strategy, not ideology. However, her gestures tell another story. She was the only European government chief who attended his inauguration in 2017 and is already organizing an official trip to Washington. She even tried to have the European Council include explicit recognition of Trump for his "efforts for peace in Ukraine," although without success.
On February 24, the anniversary of the Russian invasion, Italy was the only G7 country that did not send representatives to the support events in Kyiv. It also did not participate in the G7 meeting in the Ukrainian capital, though Meloni ultimately connected via videoconference. Another calculated gesture to avoid a head-on clash with the White House.
A transforming geopolitical landscape
The international landscape is in full reconfiguration. With the U.S. elections on the horizon, the European political world watches with uncertainty the possible return of Trump. While some leaders, like Macron and Scholz, aim to strengthen European strategic autonomy, others, like Meloni, prefer to maintain a privileged relationship with Washington, even at the risk of straining internal EU balances.
In this context, Meloni's stance not only defines Italy's direction but also anticipates possible fractures within the European bloc. The growing influence of the far-right in key countries, combined with the economic and geopolitical pressure from China and Russia, makes this era a crucial moment for the configuration of the world order.
On this board of alliances, Meloni maneuvers with the coldness of someone who knows the balance is temporary. The question is how long she will be able to maintain it. In a Europe preparing for a possible return of Trump to the White House, her position could become a diplomatic advantage... or a risky bet that ends up isolating her on both fronts.
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