Donald Trump’s election was a serious blow for Giorgia Meloni’s foreign policy narrative. With Joe Biden at the helm of the USA, the line was clear: the center -right government was the Atlanticist, alongside Ukraine, against Putin’s Russia and firmly in the bed of Europe, with a relationship with the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen who was becoming, gradually, increasingly solid (even if there was a strong Acerdine – almost personal – with the French president Emmanuel Macron). The only drawback, on the international scenario, was the government minority partner, Matteo Salvini, who – with his past philorussians, the old strategic agreement signed with the party of Putin “Unita” and the 49 million deal (remember the scandal of the Hotel Metropol in Moscow, with the good offices of Gianluca Savoini in the company of a Putin spy?) European. Not to mention the relations of esteem between Salvini himself and the other European leader financed by the Russians, Marine Le Pen of the Rassemblement National. Here, at the time of Biden, Meloni only had this embarrassment. But it was not enough to c over his strongly atlantist position, so much so that with the then President he uses the relationships were excellent (they did not even spare kisses on the head, literally).

When Giorgia Meloni was Filorussa

Meloni’s Atlantist turning point is a novelty of the last two and a half years. Precisely from 22 October 2022-that is, since he became Prime Minister-Meloni has played the role of the hyper-Atlantist, siding with Ukraine and against Putin’s Russia. Almost as if this choice of field was the conditio sine qua not to be able to guide the government. Until then she – with the whole Fratelli d’Italia party – had always been pro -Russian, like Matteo Salvini. From the first invasion of Crimea (February 2014) to Pandemia (2020-22), Giorgia Meloni had opposed the penalties against Russia and had supported, for example, the Russian vaccine Sputnik (without forgetting that, in the same period, the then Premier Giuseppe Conte-M5S-authorized a mission of self-styled Russian doctors, however escorted by military systems, in Northern Italy). In a post on Facebook of seven years ago Meloni wrote: «Congratulations to Vladimir Putin for his fourth election as president of the Russian Federation. The will of the people appears unequivocal ». Almost the same enthusiasm shown years later for Biden. Concerned about the economic consequences of the sanctions – especially on the “seasoned cheese” – Meloni opposed them until 2022. Then, the lighting: as a pupil of the father of the international sovereignty Steve Bannon – who wanted to found the Humanitas Dignitate Institute to the Certosa di Trisulti, a training center for future sovereign leaders – became, with the blessing of the outgoing prime minister Mario Draghi, the first. supporter of atlantism.

Giorgia Meloni Atlantista between Biden and Trump

With the election of Donald Trump, however, the role of hyper-Atlantist has become more difficult to support. The Tycoon mandate has earthly and world balance: new isolationist season, international relations set on bilateral negotiations, customs duties as a starting point, foreign policy stammering and contradictory (who knows what pains now for seasoned cheeses). At this juncture, the director of the foreign policy of the Meloni government appears chopped, in fits and starts, as if it were a deceived machine. It is no longer enough to take sides in favor of Ukraine – with the aggravating circumstance that Trump does not give Bacetti to anyone – but it is necessary to fully enter the European field, leaving the shadow cone in which Meloni has driven out for a sin of presumption: believe that he opened a preferential and exclusive channel between her and Trump for the benefit of all of Europe. A fatal hallucination, almost thought that Trump was an edition of any Rama, ready to welcome it genuflected in Mar-a-lago. A Marchian error that has placed our prime minister (male, clearly) outside the magical circle of the European “willing” who deal directly with Trump and Putin to get to a peace in Ukraine.

Meloni out of the “willing”

It is now clear that Ursula von der Leyen, Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz, Keir Starmer and Donald Tusk’s Europe no longer trusts Giorgia. The thing has become plastic in the images: from the informal summit in San Pietro before the funeral of Pope Francis (the photo that will make history, with Macron, Starmer and Trump who speak with Zelensky), to the “train summit” – the Russian fake news on the handkerchief of a cooled Macron passed off as a cocaine – with the three European leaders of the “willing” (Macron, Starmer and German Merz, re -edition of the 2022 trip with Macron, Draghi and Scholz), until the top of Kiev to which Meloni participated only remotely and in the Tirana summit with Zelensky, in telephone connection with Trump. Meanwhile, on a grotesque Red Carpet, Meloni was welcomed by the Albanian Edi Rama Genuflesso, as if it were a scene of the TV program “Dr. Stonamore”. As if to say: adults work there, the kids play here. Meloni is out of the group of “willing”, becoming the heroine of the group – which counts only one member – “I would like but I can’t”. Thus the illusion, almost megalomaniac, breaks to bridge the USA of Trump and Europe: that bridge has never served. Trump has shown that he can do without it, and the European leaders himself.

Meloni discontent all

So Meloni discontent all: abroad, for the ondivago trend; At home, for tensions with government partners. On the one hand, Forza Italia claims an authentically Europeanist position, in favor of the EU rearm plan and firmly alongside Ukraine – both through the mouth of Antonio Tajani and, above all, of Marina Berlusconi. On the other, Salvini’s League, who after embarking the former general Roberto Vannacci, is on philorusse, pro-Putin positions and declaredly “peaceful”, contrary to both rearrange and sanctions. In short, the original positions of Fratelli d’Italia when Meloni was at the opposition of the Renzi governments, Gentiloni and then Draghi. And it would not be surprising, now, to see her converge again on those positions so as not to be overtaken on the right by Salvini. One thing is certain: Giorgia Meloni, like many contemporary populist leaders, has the talent of navigating on sight and changing skin when it is convenient to them, especially if it perceives the air of the election campaign in view of possible elections within a year.