Italy’s right-wing leader Meloni positions herself as Trump’s ally in Europe

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni made a surprise visit to Mar-a-Lago on Sunday, meeting incoming President Donald Trump for the second time since he won the US election in November.

During the meeting in Florida, Trump described Meloni as a “fantastic woman … she really took Europe by storm” in a briefing with reporters.

Melon, meanwhile, published on X that she had a “great evening” with Trump, adding that she was “ready to work together,” according to a Google translation of her post.

He had previously spoken with the president-elect on the sidelines of the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris in early December.

The mutual admiration means that Meloni is well placed to position himself as Trump’s key ally in Europe. His transatlantic efforts come at a complicated time for other European heavyweights Germany and France, whose leaders are grappling with domestic political challenges and have faced criticism from Trump.

Meloni has a number of reasons to court the incoming administration, not the least of which is Trump’s tariff threat to Europe. During his re-election campaign, the former president threatened to impose a 10% tariff. on all goods imported into the United States – the largest trading partner of the European Union in terms of exports.

For Italy, the cost could be significant.

A study by the European risk analysis firm Prometeia calculated that 10% duties on imports could cost the Italian economy up to $7 billion, as the United States is the second largest export market of the country after Germany. Caixabank analysts put Italy’s exposure to the United States at around 4% of GDP, just behind Germany at 5%.

During his meetings with Trump, Meloni also cultivated ties with Elon Musk, the head of Tesla who is expected to play a key role in the new Trump administration. In an interview with the Italian news publisher Corriere della Sera, she described him as a “great figure of our time”, adding that he is a “genius” and wrongly portrayed as a “monster”. .