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When Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni paid an official visit to the Jewish ghetto in Rome on Dec. 19, 2022, it was a big deal. Meloni, who was appointed in October 2022, is Italy’s first prime minister with a past in a neofascist organization: As a teenager, she was an activist with the Movimento Sociale Italiano (MSI), a now dissolved neofascist movement that was openly apologetic for former dictator Benito Mussolini’s regime. But when she visited the ghetto, Meloni used tough words to condemn one of Mussolini’s greatest crimes: “The racial laws were a disgrace,” she said. Then, she hugged the president of the local Jewish community, Ruth Dureghello, and briefly wept.
Only two weeks later, however, Meloni publicly defended MSI in a press conference. “It was a party of the democratic right,” she claimed, adding that the neofascist movement “ferried millions of Italians defeated by the war towards democracy.”
The two episodes encapsulate Meloni’s savvy but ultimately misleading communications strategy: Rather than distancing herself from her neofascist past, as some people might have expected, she’s trying to distance her neofascist past from fascism itself.
foreignpolicy.com
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 U.S. election in November.
During the meeting in Florida, Trump described Meloni as a “fantastic woman… she’s really taken Europe by storm” in a briefing with reporters.
Meloni, meanwhile, posted on X that she’d had a “nice evening” with Trump, adding that she was “ready to work together,” according to a Google translation of her post.
She had previously spoken with the president-elect on the sidelines of the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris in early December.
The mutual admiration means Meloni is well-placed to position herself as Trump’s key ally in Europe. Her trans-Atlanic efforts come at a complicated time for other European heavyweights Germany and France, whose leaders are struggling with domestic political challenges and have both faced criticism from Trump.
Few things give trump more enjoyment than leaders of all kinds making a pilgrimage to the winter palace in FL to kiss the Don's ring. In this case, to fend off Dotard's threats of tariffs.
I wonder if he still has any stolen classified docs he can impress Giorgia with?
Only two weeks later, however, Meloni publicly defended MSI in a press conference. “It was a party of the democratic right,” she claimed, adding that the neofascist movement “ferried millions of Italians defeated by the war towards democracy.”
The two episodes encapsulate Meloni’s savvy but ultimately misleading communications strategy: Rather than distancing herself from her neofascist past, as some people might have expected, she’s trying to distance her neofascist past from fascism itself.
Why Giorgia Meloni Won’t Distance Herself from Italy’s Fascist Past
The Italian prime minister is proudly defending her party’s extremist predecessor by falsely claiming they were never fascists.
foreignpolicy.com
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 U.S. election in November.
During the meeting in Florida, Trump described Meloni as a “fantastic woman… she’s really taken Europe by storm” in a briefing with reporters.
Meloni, meanwhile, posted on X that she’d had a “nice evening” with Trump, adding that she was “ready to work together,” according to a Google translation of her post.
She had previously spoken with the president-elect on the sidelines of the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris in early December.
The mutual admiration means Meloni is well-placed to position herself as Trump’s key ally in Europe. Her trans-Atlanic efforts come at a complicated time for other European heavyweights Germany and France, whose leaders are struggling with domestic political challenges and have both faced criticism from Trump.
Few things give trump more enjoyment than leaders of all kinds making a pilgrimage to the winter palace in FL to kiss the Don's ring. In this case, to fend off Dotard's threats of tariffs.
I wonder if he still has any stolen classified docs he can impress Giorgia with?
