THE NEW YORK TIMES — OPINION: For more than three years, Giorgia Meloni’s leadership of Italy has seemed unshakable. As the country’s first female prime minister, she shed a far-right past to govern with a pragmatic, steady hand, stable ratings and just the occasional scandal — a rarity in a country accustomed to volatile politics.
Since the beginning of Mr. Trump’s second term, she has positioned herself as someone who can curry his favor and avoid his retaliations — which Italy can ill afford — while steering clear of a clash with the E.U. institutions that service Italy’s enormous public debt. A delicate balance that she has maintained remarkably well.
But as Mr. Trump’s popularity craters to new lows in Europe, and the continent begins to find a backbone in its dealings with him, Ms. Meloni is discovering that being a favorite of the U.S. president can be a liability, too.
Ms. Meloni was elected in 2022, six months after Russia’s full-scale invasion into Ukraine, on a far-right platform and in a coalition that included lawmakers who sounded decidedly pro-Russia. But she quickly dispelled any concerns among mainstream European politicians that they would be dealing with another Viktor Orban, Hungary’s Russia-friendly prime minister. Italy has sent military aid to Ukraine and is a member of the so-called coalition of the willing, a group of around 30 countries that have signaled their commitment to security guarantees for Ukraine after a cease-fire. » | A NYT GUEST ESSAY by Anna Momigliano | Ms. Momigliano is an editor for the Corriere della Sera, an Italian newspaper. She wrote from Milan. | Friday, April 3, 2026
