Giorgia Meloni has dismissed the idea that Italy will have to choose sides between the US and Europe as “childish” and “superficial”, insisting she would do whatever is necessary to defend her country’s interests.

In her first interview with a foreign newspaper since coming to office in 2022, the Italian prime minister said it was “in the interests of everyone” to overcome severe strains in the transatlantic relationship, describing some European leaders’ reactions to Donald Trump as “a bit too political”.

Italy’s nationalist conservative leader made clear she did not see the US president as an adversary and she would continue to respect Italy’s “first ally”.

archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20250328053317/https://www.ft.com/content/96d02345-1079-47d0-b208-1e80bcedf684

  • @[email protected]
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    029 days ago

    I remember vividly how Europeans on the internet kept insisting that she‘s not a fascist and Italians totally didn‘t vote for fascism. Nationalist conservatives my ass. Let‘s call a duck a duck.

  • @[email protected]
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    01 month ago

    We need to move on without these people for now. European interests can’t wait, especially not for fascists.

    • @[email protected]
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      1 month ago

      I think she’s subtly saying “I will help out whoever gives me better bribes”

      Also, wtf does “too political” mean? You are in politics, that’s what happens. I’m not gonna be a nascar driver and say there’s too much driving involved.

      This world is so fucked

  • petrescatraian
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    01 month ago

    @zaxvenz kinda common among European conservatives. They all act like everything’s business as usual and we can still rely on the US and the West still has a collective voice. Here in Romania basically everyone is interpreting the White House administration’s policies as a good thing. They’ll be in for a surprise in the next 4 years.

    • @[email protected]
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      1 month ago

      Very much this… Honestly, we should’ve rebranded to Romerica starting with the 90s given just how much we have been blindly following their lead…

      And I’m not saying this as an insult to America, believe it or not, as this very thing stands as an insult to our nation’s entire history. Ffs, even our anthem has been telling us to go our own way!

      • petrescatraian
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        030 days ago

        @latenightnoir well, we needed a landmark and the US was there for us right as we left communism. However we mostly failed to internalize its values and we kept things going even after joining the EU. Most of the European values seem like they’re more at home in the Western Europe (France, Germany, Austria, BeNeLux, the Scandinavian countries, hell, even the UK) than in Eastern Europe and in particular in Romania (can’t really tell about how our former Warsaw pact neighbors are doing).

        For most of the population (except most of the richer and educated class in the bigger cities), America is the land of the brave, home of the free, the land of all possibilities that they see in those cheap Hollywood movies they see on TV every evening.

  • @[email protected]
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    01 month ago

    Meloni also said she hoped Trump’s “confrontational” approach on European defence would be a much-needed “stimulus” for the continent to take responsibility for its own security.

    It looks like it will. Trump is uniting Europe and we’re finally asking ourselves some hard questions. European de-facto dependency on the US for defense has never been ideal.

  • @[email protected]
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    1 month ago

    This article a typical example of how mainstream media normalises contemporary fascist leaders.