Giorgia Meloni was the only leader of a European Union member state at the second inauguration of Donald Trump. The Meloni government’s relationship with the Trump presidency appears to be a crucial issue, both at the Italian and European level. The question is whether, yielding to Trump’s siren calls, the government may be tempted to go it alone in order to benefit from a privileged trade regime with the United States, or if Italy is seeking to act as a link between Brussels and Washington within the EU framework.
This rapprochement seems to obey different logics. It’s worth recalling that, since the Christian Democrats backed the US at the end of the Second World War, transatlantic relations have been one of the pillars of government in Italy. Indeed, the relationship between Meloni and former US president Joe Biden was described as “very good”. However, in the Italian political panorama, the “America first” path embodied by Trump has sometimes represented a model. Matteo Salvini’s far-right League party has always shown its appreciation of the Trumpian design. During the Republican’s first presidency, it was premier Giuseppe Conte, a member of the populist Five Star movement, who emerged as Trump’s privileged counterpart in Italy. Until Trump’s re-election, Giorgia Meloni’s position was cautious. A member of her party attended the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last July, but not as a signal of commitment from all its members.
The outcome of the US elections changed the situation. Italy, like other EU members, is concerned about the possible introduction of tariffs that could harm exports to the US. For Rome, maintaining a trade surplus is a political and economic priority. Secondly, the nationalist Meloni wants to appear capable of establishing a privileged dialogue with Trump, which could be an advantage in Europe amid the weakness of the Olaf Scholz chancellery in Germany and the Emmanuel Macron presidency in France.
