Giorgia Meloni’s mission: persuading Trump and Europe to be friends

Italy's leader is trying to stop the trans-Atlantic rift from becoming a divorce

- Marcus Walker

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the Informal EU Leaders' Retreat in Rijkhoven on 12 February.

(AFP)

The U.S. under President Trump has lost trust across Europe , but Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is sticking with America.

Meloni is doing all she can to keep the troubled trans-Atlantic relationship alive. She has resisted European proposals to retaliate against Trump's trade threats and called for the U.S. and Europe to deepen their ties. This weekend, she broke with most of the continent by pledging to join Trump's Board of Peace —albeit only as an observer.

She knows she is going against the prevailing mood in Europe. Trump’s threats in January to seize the Danish territory of Greenland capped a year in which the White House accused Europe's democracies of betraying Western civilization , pushed them to include far-right parties in government, hit their economies with tariffs and pressured Ukraine to accept a Russia-friendly peace plan.

The Italian leader argues Europe has no choice but to persevere with the U.S. alliance. What is the alternative, she asked reporters in January with a flash of irritation. “Should we leave NATO? Should we close American bases? Should we break off trade relations? Should we storm McDonald's?”

Italian officials admit that it isn’t easy to try to be a bridge over a widening Atlantic Ocean, and that it hasn’t borne much fruit yet.

Italian business is hurting from Trump’s tariffs on Europe. Late last year, Rome had to frantically lobby the White House not to slap 107% tariffs on Italian pasta —a national symbol—a move that would have humiliated Meloni after her efforts at friendship.