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What's behind the Trump-Meloni clash?

2026-04-16 23:01:23Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Meloni and Trump

Angela Giuffrida - The Guardian

Six months ago, Italy's far-right prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, stood surrounded by men on a stage in Sharm el-Sheikh, where world leaders had gathered to discuss the Gaza peace deal.

In front of her, Donald Trump praised and insulted the assembled leaders, before describing Meloni as a “beautiful young woman.” Turning to her, he added: “You don’t mind being called beautiful, do you? Because you are. Thank you very much for coming.”

Meloni seemed uncomfortable, but accepted the compliment. She had worked hard to establish herself as a strong European ally for Trump, paying a quick visit to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and being the only European leader to attend his inauguration as US president.

That relationship, rooted in shared nationalist rhetoric, is now unraveling as quickly as it was formed. In an interview this week, Trump turned on her, telling the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that she “lacked the courage” to not join the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The rebuke came after Meloni described Trump's attack on Pope Leo - who has emerged as a vocal critic of the Iran war - as "unacceptable".

"She is unacceptable," Trump said angrily, "because she doesn't care if Iran has a nuclear weapon and would blow up Italy in two minutes if she could."

The comments capped a challenging month for Meloni, whose government suffered a major setback in a referendum on judicial reform in March and whose close ties to Trump have been a growing political burden in a country with a deep anti-war culture.

Meloni needed a way to help restore her image and regain consensus — and analysts say Trump's clash with Papa Leoni offered her the ideal opportunity.

“When you look back at the Sharm el-Sheikh moment, she wasn’t happy to receive that compliment – ??she realized how condescending it was – but she accepted it,” says Cecilia Sottilotta, an associate professor of politics at the University of Perugia. “However, there comes a point when never going against your partner becomes a problem. So the falling out with Pope Leo was welcome news for Meloni, because in Italy, people love their popes and hate wars… Meloni desperately needed an excuse to distance himself from Trump, and this was a good one.”

Meloni had begun to distance herself from Trump after the launch of the strikes on Iran in late February, albeit cautiously. In parliament, she sharply criticized the conflict, warning at the same time that "we cannot afford an ayatollah regime in possession of nuclear weapons" that could threaten Italy and Europe.

After losing the referendum, she pursued a stronger approach by denying the use of an air base in Sicily to US military planes carrying weapons for the Iran war.

However, her act became clear with her defense of Pope Leo. Meloni said Trump’s verbal attack on the Pope — whom he described as “weak” and serving the “radical left” — was “unacceptable.” But that only came after she came under pressure from the opposition for responding to a social media post praising Leo for his role in “promoting the return of peace” as he left for a trip to Africa.

“Her instinct until the end was to walk the tightrope,” Sottilotta says. “But this is a major crisis, and at this point, you can’t afford to do anything but take sides.”

The defeat of her far-right ally Viktor Orbán in Hungary in Sunday's election is also suspected to have played a role in Meloni's reaction to Trump - especially after US Vice President JD Vance travelled to Budapest in an attempt to boost Orbán's chances.

“Vance going to Orbán was like giving him the kiss of death,” Sottilotta says. “So when she saw that, she really understood.”

Now that she is beginning to focus on the general election in 2027 – which until the referendum was expected to strongly favor her governing coalition – Meloni has begun a tactful U-turn.

In a further sign of distancing itself from the war, Italy this week suspended a defense pact with Israel, previously a staunch ally. Meloni also reiterated her government's support for Ukraine during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Rome on Wednesday, pledging to help strengthen the country's defenses against Russian attacks.

On Friday, she will join French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who have also been repeated targets of Trump's ire, for talks in Paris on securing the Strait of Hormuz.

Although Meloni’s “Brothers of Italy” has lost some support in recent weeks, the party maintains its lead in the polls, as has Meloni’s personal popularity rating, even if her leadership has lost its luster. Unless the fragmented opposition produces a credible alternative to Meloni, the polls are likely to remain static. Her government is now expected to prioritize plans to pass an electoral law that could give her a sure victory in the next election.

“I believe the coalition remains favored, in the sense that it has a clear leader,” said Lorenzo Pregliasco, co-founder of YouTrend, a political analysis company. “The opposition still has to define the alternative.”

Meloni's government has enjoyed a steady performance since coming to power in October 2022, largely because it is compact rather than having achieved anything significant to improve the lives of Italians.

“She has handled the Trump issue, which in the short term was a tactful move,” says Mattia Diletti, a professor of politics at Sapienza University in Rome. “But unless she makes some spectacular changes [on the domestic front], she will refuse. Italians are not very interested in international politics, but they are interested in the war in Iran and the wider Middle East, because it is affecting their lives and the cost of living, so the sooner it stops, the better for Meloni.”


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