Giorgia Meloni sees “no cracks” in relations between the United States and Europe, and reiterates that if the Old Continent “wants to be great it must be able to defend itself”. If in other chancelleries the new American foreign policy strategy and Donald Trump’s latest moves have created concern, the Prime Minister gives a decidedly softer reading in her interview on La7 news, hosted (over a year after the last time) by Enrico Mentana twenty-four hours after Elly Schlein, in a long-distance confrontation that will become a face-to-face, the Prime Minister clarifies, only when “the oppositions say who their leader is”.
The strategic document published by the White House, “beyond the assertive tones”, contains judgments on European politics that Meloni partly explains he shares. And it indicates, he adds, “something that has been going on in the debate between the USA and Europe for a long time”, speaking of what “some of us had the courage to define an inevitable historical path a long time ago”. That is, Europeans must roll up their sleeves when it comes to defense. «When you outsource security to someone else you must know that there is a price to pay – observes the prime minister, referring to the NATO summit in which states’ military spending was increased -. We know that it is an inevitable process and it is an opportunity for us. Clearly defense has an economic cost and produces political freedom.”
The tenant of Palazzo Chigi confirms her support for Trump on international crises and downplays the different pressures within her own government on the Ukraine dossier: «The line is very clear from the beginning, we supported Kiev to build peace. Peace is not built with good intentions but with deterrence. The government’s line must remain the same to build a path towards peace.” There is no space for allusions to pro-Russians and pro-Americans, and when Mentana quotes Matteo Salvini the prime minister reiterates that within her team she listens to everyone. “We are all pro-Italian”, he clarifies, and supporting Volodymyr Zelensky’s government is in the national interest, because “we risk paying a much higher price by making a different choice”.
The choice to recognize the State of Palestine, however, remains linked to the two usual conditions: «The disarmament of Hamas and the certainty that it does not have a role in the governance of Gaza. Italian efforts are aimed at implementing Trump’s plan, which is complex but is an opportunity that may not return.” And the government, the prime minister assures, has not been shy with Israel: “We have been very clear in various places, it has no right to prevent the birth of a Palestinian state or to encourage new settlements to prevent it.”
It is one of the issues on which the strongest distances with Schlein would be measured in a possible direct confrontation. «I have declared several times my willingness to confront the opposition leader, when they tell me who he is… I won’t get involved in their dynamics», the thrust of the president of FdI, who when the interview turns to internal issues is peremptory in assuring that the referendum on justice «is not important for the government but for the Italians: don’t worry, whatever happens the government will remain in office until the end of the legislature».
“The premiership is not in the drawer”
A horizon within which he also hopes to complete the premiership: “It’s not in the back burner, it’s also an economic reform, because ten years of instability have cost us 265 billion in interest on the debt.” In three years, the prime minister blames herself for some decisions that could have been taken “better”, but guarantees that “physically” she did her best. “Because of how I came to government, my advantage – she continues – is that I don’t have to say thank you to anyone other than the citizens, I can only respond to them.” And when Mentana points out that she could also respond to journalists, the prime minister doesn’t agree: “I also respond to journalists, director. These too are historical fakes. Then let’s count the questions I answer during a year.”