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The line of reaction is silence. At Palazzo Chigi, for now, they have chosen not to respond to the post with which Donald Trump launched yet another attack. But it will be difficult not to read every gesture and word in light of this, when the US president and Giorgia Meloni meet at the NATO leaders’ dinner in the next few hours, and then on Wednesday morning in the summit room in Ankara.
The prime minister, her supporters assure, on the eve of the meeting focused on preparing for the two days in Turkey, with government meetings on open dossiers, in which, they assure, she never referred to the tycoon. It will be impossible not to talk about it in the usual press conference at the end of the summit.
The Trump meme and the crisis of the special relationship
The strategy for now is not to give weight to the post. But that meme is heavy in itself with the reference to the need for a restriction order, an explicit reference to stalking, after the words with which Trump accused the prime minister of having “begged” him at the G7 for a photo. A series of personal attacks that have undermined any diplomatic attempt to mend ties after the tensions that now make the images of the NATO summit a year ago light years away, when the two leaders sat together at dinner at the Royal Palace in The Hague and spoke at length.
From the “special relationship” to the “restraining order needed”, the mutual trust that existed then has vanished. Nobody will admit it but, according to the rumor circulating in the government, there was some rethinking about the government’s mass participation in the embassy party.
Irritation in the government and Meloni’s strategy
Irritation, disbelief, annoyance are mixed in the moods at the top levels of the government. «We need to move forward», work on the «delicate NATO summit» without «falling into provocations that I don’t think bring advantages to anyone…», Meloni’s thoughts were collected by those who spoke to her. It creates perplexity at Palazzo Chigi in the face of the hypothesis, coming from Washington, of a Trump angry at commitments disregarded by the prime minister.
Such violent attacks, the reasoning goes in Rome, were not even reserved for the Spaniard Pedro Sanchez. And among Melonians now insinuations about the tycoon’s status are no longer taboo to explain what are defined as “madness”.
US-Italy relations and transatlantic relations
Certainly the signals coming from the US State Department and the Pentagon indicate a willingness to continue collaborating, government sources assure. An element also evaluated towards Meloni with ministers and staff in the last few hours. Immediately after Trump’s post, and then also in the morning, he spoke with Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani. The American president’s statements, the Foreign Minister clarified, «speak for themselves.
From the beginning we said we would not respond to statements of this nature, so let’s move on. We are convinced that transatlantic relations go far beyond individual declarations.”
Salvini, Crosetto and the government’s line on the USA
Unlike the other deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, who glossed over the meme (“I no longer comment on these things”), Guido Crosetto also expressed himself along the same line, expected in Ankara with Meloni and Tajani (who should see his US counterpart Marco Rubio).
«No reaction, the fundamental thing is to maintain relations with a fundamental ally like the USA – the defense minister thought -. People pass but relationships with allies must remain.”
Bipartisan solidarity with Meloni after Trump’s attack
Throughout the day, Meloni received messages of solidarity and closeness. From the President of the Senate Ignazio La Russa, for “Trump’s incomprehensible attack”. From that of the Lorenzo Fontana Chamber, according to which «confrontation between allied countries must be based on respect, responsibility and collaboration, especially in the face of common challenges». But also from the opposition. “We are all Italians, we cannot accept attacks, threats or insults from foreign heads of government”, says the secretary of the Democratic Party Elly Schlein, however criticizing the executive for having had “a very oppressed attitude”.
M5s leader Giuseppe Conte is along the same lines: «We must reject Trump’s statements to the sender, but it is certain that Meloni supported him in everything and now we are paying the consequences». «Trump’s phrases are infamous. Now Meloni wake up”, exhorted Matteo Renzi. And among the various analyses, that of Carlo Cottarelli also stands out, according to which Trump’s attacks on Meloni “are a move to favor Vannacci”.