Trump’s best collaborator in the EU

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stood in the corner of the Capitol Rotunda in the US as the sole European leader invited to attend President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Having been in power for over two years, she has strived to shed the post-fascist image of her political origins and craft a moderate persona. However, the other invited European political figures are exclusively anti-European Union (EU), far-right leaders: Brexit advocate Nigel Farage, former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, and co-founder of German political party Alternative for Germany (AfD), Tino Chrupalla.

Meloni is an admirer of Trump; when Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol Rotunda (incidentally, the inauguration site this time around) in 2021, she advocated for closer cooperation between US and European conservatives and criticised then President-elect Joe Biden, accusing Biden of using human rights issues to attack political opponents and destroy Western identity. At the end of 2022, she capitalised on a populist wave similar to Trump’s, becoming Italy’s first female prime minister. A subsequent high-profile visit to Washington cemented her position as a close ally of President Biden.

Now, she has pivoted once more. At the beginning of January, she made a surprise visit to Mar-a-Lago in Florida, becoming one of the few leaders to establish a relationship with Trump following Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Argentine President Javier Milei. Together, they watched a documentary on the US judicial “persecution” of Trump and discussed the case of an Italian journalist kidnapped in Iran, disregarding the fact that Biden was then still president. The journalist was later released, and Meloni proudly touted her diplomatic coup.

However, the inauguration did not go as planned; Meloni waited in the cold to greet Trump at church but only managed a handshake; during the inauguration, she stood in the last row, gazing at her “idol” from afar. Perhaps this is what Trump wanted — to enjoy the adoration of “fans” for the world’s most powerful leader, without regard for reciprocity among allies.

Meloni saw herself as a mediator between the pro-Russian Orbán and the EU, and now she has her sights on being the bridge between the EU and Trump. Yet in Washington she did not have the opportunity to discuss her concerns over tariffs or Italy’s defence spending, which accounts for only about 1.5% of its GDP. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been advancing trade agreements with South American countries, Mexico and Malaysia, preparing tools for the EU to collectively respond to Trump’s tariff threats. Meloni, however, sought to leverage personal relationships to secure a bilateral agreement between Italy and the US, playing right into Trump’s strategy of bypassing the EU to divide and conquer by addressing EU countries individually.

While the bridge between Meloni and Trump may be shaky, her relationship with the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, is a more direct route to the White House. In 2023, Meloni received Musk at the Italian Prime Minister’s office, establishing a friendly rapport. Both are anti-woke, share racially-tinged concerns about immigration, and are interested in declining birth rates; despite one opposing surrogacy and the other having multiple children via surrogate mothers. A photo of them gazing at each other at a dinner hosted by the US think tank Atlantic Council last year sparked widespread interest on social media, with Musk clarifying that “we are not dating”.

Musk’s interest in politics is growing; not only has he supported Trump’s campaign, but he also heads the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with the authority to interfere with regulators overseeing his companies. He has become increasingly brazen in meddling in European national affairs, calling for the resignation of the UK Prime Minister, criticising Brexit architect Farage for not being right-wing enough and deeming him unfit to lead a party. He also derided the German chancellor as an idiot, asserting that only the AfD — which has defended Nazi crimes — can save Germany.

Prior to this, Musk had weighed in on Italian domestic affairs, tweeting that “these judges must go” when a court suspended Meloni’s policy of transporting migrants and asylum seekers to Albania. Meloni did not retaliate against her friend, but the typically cautious Italian President Sergio Mattarella stepped in, affirming that Italy is a democratic country capable of self-governance in accordance with its constitution.

Musk has not only influenced public opinion on social media in support of Meloni, but also reportedly used his connections with the Iranian government to secure the swift release of the kidnapped Italian journalist. What would have a more lasting and profound impact is his plan to sell Starlink to Italy. Discussions between the Italian government and Musk about introducing Starlink were leaked to the media, prompting Meloni to clarify that no contract had been signed, and that the considerations for purchasing Starlink was due to the high costs of traditional fibre-optic installation in remote areas.

Meloni has described herself as a defender of sovereignty, renaming the Ministry of Agriculture to include “food sovereignty” and the Ministry of Economic Development to the “Ministry of Firms and Made in Italy”. However, the government’s negotiations with Musk, which include data transmission for diplomacy, military and emergency relief, touch on sensitive information vital to national security. Italy is also participating in the EU’s low Earth orbit satellite research, investing 1.5 billion euros (US$1.54 billion) in Starlink. This decision potentially sidelines existing investments or leads to a duplication of efforts.

Starlink made its name in supporting Ukraine’s wartime communications, which showcased Musk’s influence on warfare and international affairs. He refused to provide Starlink service around Crimea, which hindered Ukraine’s Black Sea offensive. Not only does Ukraine have to appease Musk, the US government is also beholden to him for lunar exploration rockets, satellite launches, the new Starshield military transmission system and the latest spy satellites. By 2023, he secured about US$3 billion in contracts from the federal government, with Trump announcing plans to promote Musk’s passion for Mars exploration during his inauguration.

Meloni’s good relations with the world’s most powerful and wealthiest individuals may not be due to her being named Europe’s most powerful person by the media outlet Politico. She maintains amicable relations with the EU to secure nearly 200 billion euros in recovery funds, yet she is, at heart, a eurosceptic like Trump and Musk. Trump believes the EU was established to economically harm the US, while Musk detests EU regulations. Meloni harbours Italian nationalism, desiring a less powerful, less integrated EU, with Trump proclaiming she has “taken Europe by storm”. With political struggles in Germany and France, Meloni, as the leader of one of the EU’s big three countries, is the best local collaborator for the US.

This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as “特朗普在欧盟的最佳协作者”.

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