The stylistic code of Prime Minister (male, let it be clear) Giorgia Meloni’s politics is largely represented by the propaganda that Italy is finally reborn – like a phoenix – on the international scene. In Meloni’s narrative, Italy, before the establishment of this government, was a wandering nation, neglected and not reaching the social scale of the world order, subjected in Europe to the Franco-German axis and in the world to the US-Russia duopoly. In the Melonian sovereignist narrative, Italy is taking back the central role that it has always deserved (and did not hold due to the negligence of those who governed before Him – understood as a female Prime Minister, but male), erecting itself as a bridge between the Trumpian administration and Europe, guiding the new course of European migration policies and redesigning the map of the balance between the European States, with a new “Axis” – effectively, given the past of many exponents of the Brothers of Italy, this term recalls forgetful disasters – Rome-Berlin, displacing Paris from its preferential relationship with Germany.

Meloni gives Italy to Trump

Meloni’s foreign policy was characterized by countless symbolic handshakesphoto opportunity, suit cream-colored with palazzo trousers, but few concrete results. No advantage over US tariff policy, no central role in the management of countless international crises. To date, the balance sheet is merciless: a subordinate Italy, without negotiating leverage, which pays the price of a paper friendship with the US MAGA world and which is increasingly suffering from a now chronic European isolation. The emblem of transatlantic irrelevance is the tariff war triggered by Trump in 2025. The US administration has imposed duties of up to 50% on European exports, devastating key Italian sectors such as precision mechanics, the much vaunted agri-food sector (hence the bizarre name of the Ministry of Agriculture, of the “Food Sovereignty” of Italy’s former brother-in-law Francesco Lollobrigida), fashion and the automotive sector, with losses estimated at billions of euros for our small and medium-sized businesses, with supply chains interrupted. Giorgia Meloni, who had invested a year in ideological courtship – from the exclusive invitation to the presidential inauguration, up to the mutual praise at CPAC (the Conservative Political Action Conference, the main annual conference of American conservatives), passing through the Republican conventions, with half of the government party on a study trip – was unable to obtain even the slightest exemption. The much vaunted “privileged channel” between Palazzo Chigi and the White House has evaporated: Trump has favored direct negotiations with Germany and the leaders of the European Union, relegating Italy to a helpless spectator, almost a spare tire good for trying to put pressure on European partners, like Hungary. Melon’s foreign policy, in fact, is relegating Rome to a subordinate role, with exports plummeting, economic growth equal to zero and no prospect of improvement.

Trump ignores Rome

It’s one relationshipthe one between Giorgia Meloni and Donald Trump, which is not working, which is not bringing any advantages. For example, the media pinnacle of Italian-American friendship, the face-to-face meeting in the Oval Office in April 2025, was a diplomatic flop. Trump – as often happens with other political leaders – monopolized the press conference by talking about internal political issues – illegal immigration, effects of tariffs on the American economy, midterm elections – leaving Meloni in an ancillary role, confined to speaking on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, increase in military spending by European countries and web taxes in a generic way and, in any case, in close relation to Washington’s priorities. Even though Trump talks about a “very special relationship” with Italy and defines Giorgia Meloni as a “tough leader”, the facts speak of a marginal role for our country compared to American strategies, relegating Italy to the role of followers passive part of the American agenda. It should not be surprising, therefore, that on the eve of the American attack against Tehran, our country was not warned. Defense Minister Guido Crosetto publicly admitted: “We were not warned in advance, we learned from official channels after the operation.” This fact clearly demonstrates the insignificance of the Meloni government: our intelligence was not notified (so much so that Minister Crosetto himself had flown to Dubai – it is not known, to date, for what reason, but in any case he was in a risk area and unable to return to Rome in a timely manner), nor was there any involvement of our country in the strategic planning of the attack, despite the mutual endorsements between Trump and Meloni and the many visits to Washington. Trump acted unilaterally, ignoring Palazzo Chigi, as if he were a minor ally, accentuating the perception of an Italy cut off from the decisions that matter.

Crosetto on holiday in Dubai, while Macron extends deterrence: Italy stays out

While in Montecitorio Defense Minister Guido Crosetto confessed his difficulties in planning his holidays and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani argued with the leader of the 5 Star Movement and former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte over who was the most prone to Trump – the latter would never have called him “Tony”, while the other had called him “Giuseppi” – in Paris the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron announced the new transalpine atomic doctrine: a massive expansion of the nuclear park, combined with the proposal to deploy it assets key in various European states, in tandem with London, to extend nuclear defensive coverage to Europe – now deprived of the American parachute, given that Trump undermines the foundations of NATO every other day. That is, the extension of the Anglo-French “advanced deterrence” strategy (the so-called “atomic umbrella”) to seven European countries: Germany, Poland, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, Greece and Sweden. The new French doctrine provides for the possibility of temporarily deploying French aircraft equipped with nuclear warheads on the territory of allied countries and involving them in joint strategic exercises. Italy is missing and this is not surprising, taking into account the difficult relations between Giorgia Meloni and Macron himself. An additional element that isolates us from the rest of Europe, at least the non-sovereignist one. Because, instead, relations, for example, with Viktor Orbán’s government are excellent, so much so that the Italian prime minister herself lent her face to the electoral campaign in favor of the Hungarian sovereignist.

From sovereignist propaganda to European marginalization

Today we are closer to Hungary and Albania (thanks to the bizarre size of the migrant centers in Albanian territory), for example, than to the United Kingdom and France. Even though Italy was one of the founding countries of the European Community. And this is the measure of the failure of the foreign policy and international positioning of the Meloni government. A cost, that of a pathetic foreign policy, which the government risks paying at home too. It is no mystery that more and more Italians perceive the figure of Trump as an egomaniac capable of upsetting world balances, so much so as to cause enormous damage to the economy and security of our “nation” – as the new Melonian sovereignist doctrine likes to call our country. In the face of this cheap propaganda – which portrays our heroine of Fratelli d’Italia as the new muse of international politics, capable of influencing Donald Trump, as well as the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and proudly standing up, vigorous as she is, to the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron – there is an Italy that finds itself on the margins of the world, of Europe and orphaned of a strategy that protects it from the reverses of this new world order that is being born.