Standing in the Rotunda, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was a privileged guest at President Trump's inauguration.
Meloni, the only European leader to attend the event last month, shares many of Trump's conservative nationalist impulses. She is friendly with Elon Musk, the adviser to his billionaire. Many of her supporters hope that special ties between Italian leaders and Trump will strengthen Italy's position.
But even if Meloni joins the standing ovation for the new US president, Trump is reminded in European rights that an unpredictable US president could be as enemy as his allies. It only took a moment.
“I put America first, very easily,” Trump said in his inaugural address. “We will impose customs duties and taxes on foreign countries to enrich our citizens.”
Since then, Trump has warned that he will “definitely” slap Europe with tariffs “a fair” the same vigilance that many Europeans feel among the right people who look like his natural allies. Masu.
Trump is committed to answering everyone to prioritize American interests, but many nationalist parties in Europe have pledged to do the same for their own country. Trump's threat lies at the heart of their own agenda, and they could undermine the core constituencies where nationalist parties have expanded their appeal.
Potential trade tensions highlight some of the fundamental contradictions that may emerge from the alliance of international nationalists, as to whether their friendships can withstand a conflict of competing interests. I have a question. Leaders are also concerned about the possibility of America's liberation from European security and the threat of Trump to allies who do not meet their military spending targets.
“It's not a good strategy to support a man who may have a negative impact on your country,” said Renault Lavey, general secretary of the far-right national rally in the French Parliament.
Jordan Bardera, president of the national rally, said last month that he was inspired by a man who was honored with Trump and threatened the country with tariffs to fill up planes and not landing them in Colombia's Decoy.
But he also portrayed Trump as an existential threat to France and Europe. The tariffs Trump may place on French farming will hurt French farmers.
“If we don't protect our interests, we'll disappear,” he said at a press conference last week.
That coolness was a time when former party president Marine Le Pen was hoping to praise him effectively and hit Eve on New York's Trump Tower. It was different from the national rally's reaction to Trump's final election. His inauguration ceremony.
Lavey said it would be extremely useful for Trump to raise his anti-immigration agenda to the world in 2017.
President Trump's style can put off many French voters, Lavey added. “It's not our culture. We go beyond the top, talk about garbage and speak loudly,” he said.
If anything, too many ties with Trump could threaten the long and successful strategy of national rally to “smack” the party's image and broaden its appeal among French voters. There is.
“There's a radical side to Trumpism today,” said Maya Kandel, a researcher studying US rights and links to Europe at the Sorbonne University in Paris. “They don't know if they want to participate in it or stick to the regularization plan.”
Still, as much as Trump has created tensions among his allies, his victory has also promoted right-wing parties in Europe, adding momentum to the conservative projects they promote.
Like the German alternative, he has openly embraced the support of Trump's right-hand man Musk, hoping to gain new heights and legitimacy.
Part of that, the party, which has been classified as extremists by the German intelligence agency, has seen only a small clash in polls following Musk's support, and may not be related to his efforts. . Recent polls show that three-quarters of Germans are watching Musk's attempts to influence German elections as “unacceptable.”
The same poll found that 71% of respondents in Germany and the UK had a negative view that Musk also interfered in political debates.
For now, Trump's biggest influence may be in imitation of his tactics, such as “making Europe great again,” as demonstrated by a gathering of far-right parties in Madrid this weekend. Maybe.
Participants are expected to include Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban. Le Pen from France. And Matteo Salvini's league party is part of Meloni's governing coalition. They are certainly going to strike Trump's new presidency.
But under a confident veneer, uncertainty lies lurking in the uncertainty about what Trump actually means to Europe.
Meloni's allies hope to be able to mediate between the US and Europe in trade negotiations. “We want to be a bridge,” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told the newspaper Corriere della Serra on Monday.
Note that if you try to play the role of Meloni's Trump Whisper, you can find yourself squeezed between the well-known whimsical US president and the European Union.
In the case of conflict, it's difficult for Meloni to side with Trump, said Jean Pierre Daannis, a professor at the University of Côte d'Azur, who focuses on Italian diplomacy.
Italy is a founding member of the European Union, relying on the EU as its biggest trading partner and a post-pandemic recovery fund of billions.
“The EU is the first,” Darnis said. “Then you'll deal with the US.”
Venia Aminoildi, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Transatlantic Security Initiative, says that no matter how close Meloni and Trump are, political affinity can barely maintain relationships with people like Trump. I did. An approach to diplomacy.
Their relationship “can give Meloni some advantage at the starting line,” Ilidi said.
That may be especially true when Italy's own interests are on the line.
A 10% increase in US tariffs on Italian products will result in Italy 4-7 billion euros, according to a survey by Italian consulting firm Prometeia.
Trump threatened to retaliate against European countries that did not meet NATO's commitment to spending on the military. With 1.5% of production spent on defense, Italy is well below its 2% unofficial commitment, and even below the 5% that Trump is demanding.
Meloni's intimacy with Musk also made her criticism from opponents who quickly pointed out that Italian leaders had previously opposed foreign officials who had interfered with domestic politics in other countries. I exposed it.
Italy has also met with Musk's SpaceX on a potential deal to provide safe communication to government and military officials through Starlink.
However, when news about Starlink Talks emerged, the opposition accused Meroni of working with Musk at the expense of a satellite initiative that also built the European Union.
Meloni defended herself by saying that she was only exploring the possibilities and that for now there was no replacement for Musk's satellite.
At the same press conference, she also found herself faced multiple questions about her relationship with Musk and his interference in politics in other countries.
So far, Meloni has defended his allies.
“George Soros,” she said. He mentioned a billionaire American investor and a longtime Democratic donor whose support for the liberal cause made him a boogeyman of rights. “That's what I think is dangerous interference.”
Gym Tankery I contributed a report from Berlin.
