Meloni makes surprise visit to Trump
Italy's right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited US President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate on the weekend. The two politicians seemed to be on very good terms. There are reports that they discussed the possibility of a major contract between the Italian government and Trump's close confidant Elon Musk over dinner. The press takes a critical stance.
Italy benefits but PM benefits more
Meloni's good relations with Trump will strengthen Italy in the EU, writes Rzeczpospolita:
“Finally the dream of Italy, the third largest economy in the EU, of becoming a major political player in Brussels is coming true. The Italian prime minister is also counting on the US under the new president not to interfere with her planned restructuring of the state, in which she wants among other things to subject the media to increasing controls and undermine the independence of the courts.”
Guaranteed to cause trouble in Rome
Avvenire comments on the rumoured five-year contract between Italy and SpaceX:
“According to reports published by Bloomberg, the contract would be worth 1.5 billion euros. This is causing a storm on the government-opposition front which also has repercussions for national security. The project would include a highly encrypted system for the Italian government's telephone networks and internet services, military communications and satellite services for emergencies. According to the US news agency, the plan is said to have been brought forward after the recent meeting between Giorgia Meloni and Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago, something which the Italian government, for its part, has drily denied.”
EU needs its own satellite system
A deal with Elon Musk's SpaceX would be extremely risky, warns the Süddeutsche Zeitung:
“Musk is now completely out of control, intervening in election campaigns to support right-wing populists and calling for the British prime minister to be imprisoned. His behaviour raises the question of how he uses the companies he runs. SpaceX is a technologically outstanding company, its Starlink satellites are unrivalled - but should Italy really be the first European country to take the risk of handing over its communications to Musk, of all people? It would be better if the EU were to offer its member Italy an alternative by finally taking decisive steps towards establishing its own satellite system.”