Giorgia Meloni, the first woman to serve as head of the Italian government, achieved great success thanks to Silvio Berlusconi, an ardent friend of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. However, her position regarding support for Ukraine in the war against Russia and the threat from the Kremlin to Europe is fundamentally different from what Berlusconi professed, and is not liked by many in Italy, which has always been loyal to Moscow.
“Russia is a serious threat to the security of the European Union, and we must understand that the threat is much wider than we imagine,” says Meloni, answering a question about the Russian Federation. According to her, the threat to EU security from Russia will not stop even after the end of the war in Ukraine and the European Union must be prepared for this.
Today, a number of factors, including government crises in leading EU countries such as France and Germany, as well as Giorgi Meloni's relatively close relationship with US President Donald Trump, seem to be gradually making Rome a key player in Europe-US relations during Donald Trump's second presidency. Ukraine is most interested in whether the leader of Italy can become a “bridge” between a just world in Ukrainian style and Donald Trump.
– Now Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is gaining political weight and looks like one of Donald Trump’s closest allies among EU leaders. It has already been called a “bridge” between Europe and the new White House administration. The Italian leader recently visited Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate and met with the president-elect, becoming only the second European politician to do so after Viktor Orban.. Trump reportedly said he was willing to work with Meloni, noting that she is a " Meloni also says her relationship with the US president is " Today her role looks quite significant and many believe that it will consist of mediating between other European leaders and Trump, who is threatening to start a trade war with the continent, as well as reduce American support for some NATO countries and Ukraine in its war with Russia. – Yes, Trump talks about her very often today. In this context, it is important that Giorgia Meloni, despite the fact that she is the leader of a right-wing party in Italy and was essentially a minister in the government of Silvio Berlusconi, who was an absolutely pro-Russian politician, nevertheless she unexpectedly took the side of Ukraine. Currently, there is perhaps no other politician in Italy who would more consistently and systematically defend the interests of Ukraine on the continent. That is why it is very important that Donald Trump accepts, perceives and listens to this policy, just like entrepreneur Elon Musk, by the way. Indeed, her role will be very important because, unlike Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, George Meloni is the leader of a country that is part of the G7, which influences decision-making in the European Union, European leaders, unlike. This is precisely her big difference from Orban and her main advantage. Therefore, it really makes sense to say that Giorgia Meloni could become the person who will communicate with Donald Trump from Europe. Because it is known that Donald Trump is a man who likes comfortable conditions, and it is obvious that Meloni, with whom he enjoys communicating, can become an emissary from the European Union in communicating with the United States, and will communicate about something - from economic and security issues to.
– Italy has always been considered a very loyal country to Russia and its policies. Meloni, in addition to being a representative of the far-right party, and today the far-right in the EU is almost entirely pro-Russian, was also a very close person of Silvio Berlusconi, an Italian friend of the Russian dictator Putin. Today, however, the Italian leader is one of Ukraine's strongest supporters, having met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dozens of times since the Russian invasion. The last meeting took place in Rome, where both leaders discussed processes in the world and preparations for the conference on the restoration of Ukraine, which will be held this year in Rome. It seems that Giorgia Meloni is a politician who actually broke the system in Italy precisely in this direction and at the same time continues to be popular. How do you explain this transformation of Meloni in supporting Ukraine in the confrontation with Russia In my opinion, given the Italian history of relations with the Russian Federation, this was somewhat unexpected. – Yes, indeed, this is a certain mystery for many, because Italy is a country where there was no division between the right and the left in relation to Russia, they were all her ardent friends, and many remain so today. We can remember that Italy is a country where the position of the Communist Party is very strong. And Silvio Berlusconi, in whose government Giorgia Meloni worked, is a man who had a very close relationship with Putin. We can also remember non-systemic Italian parties, which also came to power in elections and also had a very positive attitude towards Russia. Actually, Italy was one of those countries that lobbied for South Stream and really wanted Russian gas. And that is why it is really a certain mystery why Meloni took such an active position on the side of Ukraine.
In my opinion, this is more a question of her inner beliefs and what is right and what is wrong, and Russian aggression is an absolute evil. Meloni definitely went against the general trend in Italy, because, obviously, Russian propaganda was very active there and continues to do so. There remain a large number of people still sympathetic to the Kremlin. This suggests that she knows how to talk to people, knows how to convey her opinion and be very convincing. She is not afraid to go against public opinion. Returning to her relationship with Donald Trump, it is these qualities that are very important, including for Europe and for Ukraine - Meloni can convey her opinion to people who are quite critical of a particular topic, and can find the necessary arguments to.
– After a personal meeting with Trump, Meloni predicted that the United States would not leave Ukraine in the war with Russia, this “would be a mistake”. The Italian leader said the American president " Also, the Italian Prime Minister says that “we all know that in the past Russia has violated the agreements it signed. Without security guarantees for Ukraine, we cannot be sure that this will not happen again, and, as we know, it is with the provision of clear security guarantees for Ukraine that there are still big problems today." Given her qualities and commitment to Ukraine, Meloni has the opportunity to change Trump's mind on the Ukrainian issue? – There are two news on this score – one is good, the other is not so good. On the one hand, it is unlikely to change the opinion of a significant part of the anti-Ukrainian representatives of the Trump MAGA movement. Perhaps she can somehow influence Elon Musk, but, again, this is not a fact, because Elon Musk is a person who, as we see, is quite active and speaks very harsh words. As a matter of fact, his relations with Europe are already damaged. The good news is that she doesn't need to convince MAGA.. The main thing is to convince Donald Trump himself, because whatever he says, so it will be. Therefore, it is obviously important to direct all your efforts specifically to the US President. Unlike Orban, Meloni has the mechanisms, tools, power and influence to be an emissary in relations between Europe and the United States.
It is important that Meloni is not the only one on the European continent who has a pro-Ukrainian approach and access to Trump. There is ex-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Polish President Andrzej Duda. This bloc of Ukrainian friends is also working to convince Donald Trump that Ukraine is important.
– Returning to Viktor Orban, this great second Putin and “great peacemaker”. Due to the rapid increase in Meloni's political weight, he fades into the background for Trump? – I think he has already lost a lot of what he had, because if during the election campaign Orban communicated very actively with Trump, now we see that there is no such active communication anymore. Orban, who really had high hopes for the arrival of Donald Trump, did not get what he wanted. All his attempts to get involved in the peace process, to somehow influence with his initiatives, led to nothing. We did not see any reaction from Trump to these movements of his, who understood that the Hungarian leader cannot ensure certain processes and the desired result, and from the point of view of the American president, he cares about a person who can influence one side or another in order to achieve certain. That is, Donald Trump needs people who can be effective and achieve results.. And obviously, Giorgia Meloni wins here.
We observe that Orban, together with the Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico, are actively defending the presence of Russian oil and gas in the European Union. And here, by the way, there is an important point that makes it possible to put these European politicians in an awkward position, because Trump has already clearly noted that he strives for Europe to actively buy American energy resources.
There is another important factor - Viktor Orban is quite actively in contact with China, and Donald Trump has repeatedly made it clear that this country is a strategic enemy for him and his administration. That is why, it seems to me, such uncertainty of the Hungarian leader does not allow him to really seriously influence Donald Trump. And again, I repeat, Orban is a marginal figure in Europe and the European Union will not listen carefully to the Hungarian on any issue.