FLASH
Shkruar nga Stefano Folli
There is a question that neither Giorgia Meloni nor Donald Trump have definitively answered...
One might have imagined that with Vice President JD Vance we would have delved deeper into the issues that divide Europe and the United States, starting with the famous tariffs. Instead, it seems that the discussions with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni followed the White House atmosphere to the end: a polite and very cordial dialogue, many smiles, a little understanding.
It is partly understandable. On the one hand, Italy does not want and cannot break the European restriction, so that on tariffs we stand in solidarity and no one negotiates for himself. On the other hand, it is logical that Vance has no right to go beyond Trump, especially since only a few hours have passed since the first meeting, the one in Washington.
Nor did the vice president's visit serve to substantially strengthen the American sympathy operation toward an ally that enjoys, so to speak, "favored nation" status on the Trump and Vance preference scale.
Non-commercial preference, of course, since we are at sea on tariffs. Better for military spending, where Italy is making a considerable effort. Sentimental preference, then, since the president does not hesitate to assert that Italy's privilege will last as long as Giorgia Meloni is in Palazzo Chigi.
Long live honesty… and in fact it is not difficult to believe that this is the opinion of the American administration. All the more so since the Italian political archipelago is quite fragmented: on the right there is Salvini who would like to be the preferred ally of Trumpism's aggression, but it seems that he has not found support in Washington. And Giorgia Meloni is ahead of the League member in both camps.
As for the center-left, the choice is clear: everyone from the PD to the 5S to Renzi, with the exception of Calenda, is aiming for the next round. They are waiting for Trump to complete his four-year term and hope that, when it comes to taking stock, the failures will outweigh the successes, so as to avoid the isolationist and protectionist president's term turning into a kind of dynasty, conceii. He believes in it now and not a little. So he is concerned with weaving a web of relationships in Europe and the rest of the world. Melonian Italy is certainly at the top of the list and here Trump and Vance think alike.
As for the prime minister, she too has devoted herself to a sympathy campaign, both in the US and yesterday in Rome. It has already been written that he is treading carefully so as not to weaken the thread that unites Italy with Ursula von der Leyen's Europe. This is absolutely right. But there is room for national initiatives, or rather for asserting a certain amount of autonomy.
When Giorgia Meloni in the White House says that we must act together “to make the West great again,” she is playing a rather clever game with words, provided we also see its ambiguity. The function of the word has to do with the Trumpian Magic: in this case it would not be just America that would become great again, but, in fact, the West. However, there is a question to which neither our prime minister nor the new president have given a definitive answer. Will Ukraine have a place in this West, destined to rediscover its greatness?
To listen to the statements of Trump and Vance, and even more so their silences, one would say that the notion of the West in 2025 does not include Kiev. America and Trump - is giving in to Russia step by step. On the other hand, the prime minister, as is known, has been a staunch defender of Ukrainian independence. Now would be the time for her opinion to become clearer./ Adapted from "Pamphlet" by "laRepubblica"
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