One person has united Italy across the political spectrum
Dave Jorgenson ⢠1.0M views ⢠4d ago
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One person has temporarily united Italy across the political spectrum.
It was on a government plane somewhere between Verona and Rome thatĀ Itay's PMĀ Giorgia MeloniĀ learned that US PresidentĀ Donald TrumpĀ had called her "unacceptable". Her aides had flaggedĀ an interviewĀ the US president had given to Corriere della Sera published on April 14. She read it. Then, according to theĀ Italian daily's account, the far-right PM settled on a line she had already used that afternoon: "Being allies does not mean there are no red lines, and it certainly does not mean being vassals or subjects."
Trump had been blunt. "I'm shocked at her. I thought she had courage, but I was wrong," he said in the Corriere interview. His grievances were twofold: Meloni'sĀ refusal to back the US-led war on IranĀ and her condemnation ofĀ his attacks on Pope Leo XIVĀ as "unacceptable". āShe is the one who is unacceptable,ā Trump added, ābecause she doesnāt care ifĀ IranĀ has a nuclear weapon and would blow up Italy in two minutes if it had the chanceā.
The dispute also comes against the backdrop of Romeās decision toĀ suspend the renewal of a defence cooperation agreementĀ withĀ Israel, further fuelling tensions.
The exchange sent shockwaves across Italian political life, though not quite in the direction Trump may have intended.
The front pages the following morning told the story of aĀ rare political consensus. La Repubblica described the moment as one of Italian unity, framing Meloni's pushback as aĀ "new Maginot line"Ā against what it called the "unpredictable man occupying theĀ White House". Il Giornale, on the right of the spectrum, celebrated an "Italy first" stance.
Caption from article by Mehdi Bouzouina, France 24.