President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic Giorgia Meloni visiting Ukraine, February 21, 2023. Photo courtesy of the President of Ukraine.
In The Wall Street Journal, Peter Rough and Daniel Kochis suggest that President-elect Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will find common ground, strengthening the American/Italian relationship. They write:
Foreign policy often hinges on personal relationships between leaders. Ronald Reagan’s friendship with Margaret Thatcher opened diplomatic vistas. Acrimony between Donald Trump and Angela Merkel limited a key alliance.
Joe Biden and Olaf Scholz’s mutual admiration has elevated Washington’s relationship with Berlin above all others in Europe. But with Mr. Trump returning to the White House and the government in Berlin collapsing, the German-American relationship will soon look different. Other European leaders can step in to fill the void.
No one is better positioned to do so than Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. She can empathize with the incoming U.S. president. Like Mr. Trump, she was a political outsider decried as a populist and “fascist.” She too confounded her opponents’ expectations and has built a serious political movement. Many of Mr. Trump’s closest allies, including Elon Musk, admire Ms. Meloni. Her personality mixes charm and grit in equal measure.
On policy, the two leaders will find common ground. Ms. Meloni’s government has focused on stemming uncontrolled immigration. Mr. Trump’s first task as president will be to untangle the Biden administration’s open-border policies. Both leaders have been eager defenders of traditional values.
Ms. Meloni has demonstrated moral clarity in foreign affairs too. Unlike other European leaders, she has unambiguously backed Israel and condemned Hamas. She has encouraged the West to continue supporting Ukraine and spoken forcefully against Vladimir Putin. Deterrence, she noted this year, “is the best guarantee that there will be no escalation.”
Some have argued that Mr. Trump’s most obvious European ally is Hungary’s Victor Orbán. But Ms. Meloni would be far more credible and capable. Mr. Orbán is limited by his poor standing in the rest of Europe. Hungary’s representative to the European Commission was assigned to the lackluster health and animal-welfare portfolio—and his confirmation may still be rejected by the European Parliament. Ms. Meloni’s pick was rewarded with a coveted executive vice presidency.
Rome could become a welcome counterweight to Berlin. Mr. Trump sought something similar in Vienna and Warsaw during his first term, with varying success. Italy’s size should give it an added advantage as Washington’s preferred European partner. More than 12,000 U.S. troops are based in Italy, and Naples is the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s Sixth Fleet. In Europe, only Germany hosts more American service members.
Mr. Trump’s return to Washington is a promising opportunity. To govern effectively, he will need friends in Europe. He won’t find a better ally than Ms. Meloni.
Read more here.
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