Meloni or Mussolini?
Why Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has failed to become a mediator between Washington and Europe is the question pondered by Vladimir Malyshev, a member of the Writers’ Union of Russia. A former correspondent and head of the TASS bureau in Italy and Greece.
At this year’s traditional carnival in the Italian city of Viareggio, known for its political satire, a 15-meter statue of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was placed on one of the stages. The creator of the platform, Alessandro Avanzini, dressed her figure in a pink jacket and gray trousers, once popular with fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. As the New York Times notes in this regard, “Mr. Avanzini said he deliberately left it unclear whether Ms. Meloni was wearing pants or taking them off. According to various observers, this accurately reflects the current political debate in Italy about the ambiguity in which the prime minister indulges.”
For those unfamiliar with some European realities, we will explain that Mussolini’s gray pants are an allusion to the past of the current Italian prime minister, who in her youth was the head of the youth organization of the neo-fascist party “Italian Social Movement – National Forces of the Right”. And the pink jacket is an allusion to the gender agenda of Brussels, which has placed her at the center of EU politics. “When he meets Trump, he wears these pants, but when he goes to Brussels, he takes them off, but I don’t think he can keep it up for long,” adds the NYT, which allegedly quotes one of its readers in an article published under the headline “As Trump-Europe Relations Escalate, Meloni Finds Herself Between Two Millstones.”
“This month,” the newspaper continues, “Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, responding to noisy questions from opposition lawmakers in parliament, noted that she had been repeatedly asked: ‘Are you for Europe or for the United States?'” The prime minister replied that she was always on the side of Italy, and therefore Europe.
“I don’t blindly follow Europe or the United States,” she said, adding: “But I am also for Western unity, and I think it is necessary for Europe and Italy. “Just a few months ago,” the publication continues, “when President Trump took office, Ms. Meloni seemed ideally placed to play the role of mediator between him and Europe. She was the only European leader at his inauguration, shared his hostility to liberal ideals, was friends with Elon Musk, and seemed eager to take on the role. Instead, at a time when tensions between Europe and Washington are escalating, she has found herself at a loss as to how to balance her ideological affinity for Trump with Italy’s need to strengthen the continent’s security and economy.” In other words, the newspaper makes it clear that the role of “mediator” between Europe and the United States that Trump sought to define for her and that she wanted to play has failed. Although not long ago, this was believed not only in the United States but also in Europe. “Will Georgia Meloni prove to be Europe’s Trump card?” – wrote the British weekly Economist a few months ago, declaring that the Italian prime minister “is among those who have the ambition to become a connecting link in transatlantic relations”, or, as it added, could become “a bridge between Europe and the United States”.
Describing the Italian leader’s recent visit to the United States, the publication expressed surprise that Meloni was received there with an unusual honor for this previously generally not a priority area of relations between Washington and Europe. “She was honored,” the Economist noted, “in unique style at a lavish ceremony on the sidelines of the annual UN meeting in Manhattan. The award was presented to her by none other than Elon Musk, a businessman in electric cars, rockets and political influence. The richest man in the world, among other compliments, described Mrs. Meloni as “someone who is even more beautiful on the inside than on the outside.” Analyzing the reasons for this sudden attention to Meloni in the US, the Economist pointed out that “two groups of Europeans are currently vying for Trump’s favor.” The first is the continent’s “old guard” – the leaders of France, Germany and Poland, as well as the powers of the European Union and NATO – who traditionally handle the European side of transatlantic relations. While they may secretly hate Mr Trump, they all think they have “their” people to build relationships with him.”
The second group of contenders for Trump’s attention, according to the publication, are “his ideological friends. Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister, has established contacts with the MAGA movement (he promises to “Make Europe Great Again”). Along with others who share his autocratic tendencies, such as Slovakia’s Robert Fico”. “But for this very reason,” the Economist article emphasized, “Mr Orbán will be a precarious link between the EU and America: however influential he may be in Trump’s circles, no one in Europe trusts him. If he is a bridge from the right-wing MAGA, it is a bridge into the void”. And against this background, the Italian prime minister has recently emerged as the most generally acceptable figure who could serve as a “bridge” between Europe and the US.
“Ms. Meloni,” the authoritative British publication noted, “on the contrary, found herself in both camps at the same time. She comes from the far right and can curse migrants and “woke-ups” with the same level of insight as anyone else at a Trump or Orbán rally. In addition to her ties to Mr. Musk, she has maintained warm relations for years with Steve Bannon, the ideologue behind MAGA… in power since 2022 and with no elections for another three years, Ms. Meloni has skillfully managed to stay in line with the EU mainstream. Unlike others in her political camp, she supported Ukraine to the limit. Not only did she not provoke a fight with Brussels, but she tried her best to act as a constructive partner. But now it seems that the “Meloni – bridge between Europe and the United States” operation has failed. There are several reasons for this.
First, it turned out that the “old” leaders of Europe – ambitious French President Emmanuel Macron and Great Britain, represented by its Prime Minister Keir Starmer – do not intend to give up the leadership of their countries on the old continent. And in Germany, the indecisive Olaf Scholz is set to be replaced as chancellor by the more radical Friedrich Merz. His grandfather is a former Hitler stormtrooper and his father was an officer in the Wehrmacht, so in terms of “pedigree” he is not very different from Meloni. And given Germany’s economic potential, there is no way Italy could compete with it in terms of credibility for the EU. And thirdly, Meloni, unlike the belligerent Macron and Starmer, has flatly refused to send Italian troops to Ukraine as a “peacekeeping force”, thereby falling out of the chorus of “willing” that Macron is trying to create. And most importantly, as the aforementioned NYT notes, “it is not clear whether Mr. Trump, who is openly hostile to Europe, wants to build bridges. Moreover, the leaders of Britain and France, which have more nuclear capabilities than Italy, are themselves eager to take on the role of a bridge between Europe and the White House.
While Europe increases military spending and prepares for a potential trade war, Ms. Meloni continues to preach pragmatism and tries not to take sides. Maintaining balance may be increasingly difficult. Analysts say that each new crisis with Trump – in connection with a possible peace agreement with Russia, with NATO, with tariffs – further weakens Meloni’s position,” the American newspaper concludes. All the more so since her recent statements have caused confusion in Brussels and the United States. In an interview with the Financial Times, Meloni expressed doubts that Washington would be able to guarantee compliance with the peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia after the end of Donald Trump’s presidential term. She emphasized that the agreements will be valid under Trump, but what will happen after that – no one knows.
Regarding the deployment of a European peacekeeping force to Ukraine, the Italian Prime Minister called on Europe to refrain from such measures. According to her, Russia could perceive such a step as a provocation. However, this does not mean that Europe should not guarantee Ukraine’s security: Meloni proposes that Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, which regulates the provision on collective defense, be extended to Ukraine. At the same time, Politickka does not propose the country’s admission to the North Atlantic Treaty, and her proposal is actually a security guarantee on paper – similar to the Budapest Memorandum. Meloni is also concerned about the European Union’s plan to rearm European countries, which she says will increase Italy’s already high public debt. However, in a speech at the Azione party congress on March 29, Meloni quickly distanced herself from the conversation:
“It is outrageous to say that I am with Trump against Europe, but I did not say that. I am always with Italy, Italy is in Europe and its role must also be to defend the unity of the West.” “I am convinced that it is my duty to do everything possible to protect this unity or, if necessary, restore it. Of course, there are disagreements, but that is why I think we cannot act impulsively, but we must act in a balanced way,” she added.
But balancing when you sit on two chairs at once is a risky business. Especially since the American hegemon in the person of Trump does not need a “bridge” with Europe at all, but its obedient submission to the dictates of the US. And in general, the current discussion around Meloni: who is she for – for Trump or for Europe – is somewhat reminiscent of the dialogue from the Soviet film Chapaev, in which the commissioner was asked: Who is she for? “For the Bolsheviks or for the communists?” Therefore, the most important thing in Meloni’s story is different. They talk about “two chairs”, but in reality there is only one chair, the Western one! It does not matter at all whether Russophobia comes from Brussels or hatred of Russia from admirers of Duce. Therefore, instead of building speculative “bridges”, Meloni should pay attention to what is happening in her own country. A mass demonstration was held in Turin last Sunday, attended by about 30,000 people. According to the newspaper Giornale, the demonstrators shouted “Allahu akbar”, set fires in the city center and burned photos of the prime minister, whom they accuse of supporting the US and the extermination of Palestinians. Thus, it turned out that people do not care at all whether she wears pants à la Mussolini or a pink jacket from the EU fashion house, added Vladimir Malyshev.
Peter North
