The “special relationship” is a term that was coined after World War II by Winston Churchill to define the privileged friendship between the United States and the United Kingdom. A bond that means, for example, that the first European head of government that the new president receives from the White House is always the British one. But perhaps that tradition will be interrupted. Donald Trump respected it in his first term, in 2017, with the British conservative leader Theresa May, but this Monday the only European head of government present at the magnate’s inauguration in Washington is Giorgia Meloni, and Italian diplomacy works for a face to face meeting with the new president. It takes advantage of the context of another broken tradition; until now, foreign leaders were not invited to this ceremony.
The Italian Prime Minister is looking for a powerful photo and a clear message to Europe while, on the other hand, Elon Musk entertains himself by attacking the British Prime Minister, the Labor Party Keir Starmer, and exalting the German extreme right before the elections. Several countries have reacted against the owner of the social network
The leader of the Italian far-right thus takes advantage of the power vacuum in Germany and the agony of Emmanuel Macron in France to be the new special friend in Europe of Trump and, also, of Musk. It aspires to be the EU’s interlocutor and mediator with them on all the thorny issues that are expected to arise from now on (tariffs, a possible peace agreement in Ukraine on terms not shared by the Commission, balances in NATO). The time has come for Meloni to assert her role as recognizable and presentable leader of the European extreme right, which in the EU forces her to make so many balances. It is doing with the United States the same thing it has done in the EU: presenting itself as a bridge.
Meloni is the only EU personality invited to the Capitol event, along with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who ultimately did not attend. And he is handling this opportunity with tact and tactics. He already made a lightning trip on January 5 to the United States to meet with Trump and resolve the kidnapping of the Italian journalist Cecilia Sala in Iran, something he achieved three days later, on January 8. She made herself look like the only European leader capable of taking a plane, arriving in Palm Beach and having dinner with the new president in an informal atmosphere and amidst showy displays of affection. The success of the reporter’s release gave her many points in Italy and also in the EU, as someone with the necessary contacts to unblock such a complex crisis. Even the opposition recognized his merit, a fact destined to become an anniversary in Italy.
Aware that it is a delicate maneuver, Meloni did not clarify until two days ago whether or not he would attend this Monday’s event in Washington. According to Italian media, he remained silent while speaking with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to prepare the ground and avoid sensitivities. In any case, Von der Leyen herself has also been the first to lift the cordon sanitaire on the extreme right with Meloni just enough to be useful to her. Precisely because he “works well” with her and wants to toughen immigration policy. That utility may be destined to grow from now on.
There is also an Italian reading to the entire operation. Meloni has left out Matteo Salvini, leader of La Liga, who until now boasted of being Trump’s ally in Italy. He even wore a red tie the day he won the election. It is true that the prime minister had shown good harmony with Joe Biden and this had distanced her from Trump’s world, but also that, in return, she maintained a close relationship with Elon Musk, who in the end has been her direct link with the new president. . With one or the other, Meloni already has an advantage over all European governments.
Orbán calls to “occupy” Brussels before Trump’s arrival
MRS, Brussels
Far-right leaders and parties from all over Europe await Donald Trump’s arrival in the White House to promote their populist and nationalist policies, vindicated in the Republican’s victory. The Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, assured this Monday, a few hours before the New York magnate’s inauguration in Washington, that the “golden age” for European conservatives and for relations between Hungary and the United States is upon us. . “The big attack can begin. From here I launch the second phase with the aim of occupying Brussels,” he said at a press conference in Budapest. Orbán’s rhetoric is that the EU is governed by “leftists” and bureaucrats.
The Hungarian leader will not attend Trump’s swearing-in, with whom he has cultivated relations in recent years as one of the champions of that ultra-conservative, populist and nationalist policy that is now being claimed in Europe. Orbán, the most fractious partner of the EU, an ally of the Russian Vladimir Putin and in charge of a country fined millions in Brussels for its breaches of the rule of law and community immigration policies, believes that the ultra-conservatives should take advantage of the Trumpist wave to reverse some measures promoted by the European project.
