Barely taking office, the new Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met this Sunday evening with French President Emmanuel Macron in Rome. His first one-on-one with a foreign leader.
Until the end, the Élysée maintained uncertainty about this interview. The meeting between the President of the Italian Council and the French President was finally held discreetly and away from the cameras in the center of Rome for a little over an hour.
” As Europeans, in neighboring countries, as friendly peoples, with Italy we must continue all the work started. Succeeding together, with dialogue and ambition, we owe it to our youth and our peoples “, tweeted Emmanuel Macron with a photo alongside Georgia Meloni, after thanking outgoing Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
As Europeans, in neighboring countries, as friendly peoples, with Italy we must continue all the work started. Succeeding together, with dialogue and ambition, we owe it to our youth and our peoples. Our first meeting in Rome, @GiorgiaMelonigoes in this direction. pic.twitter.com/njWFLo97b9
—Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) October 23, 2022
This meeting took place only a few hours after the passing of the torch from Mario Draghi to Georgia Meloni under the gold of Palazzo Chigi, the seat of government in Rome. A century after Benito Mussolini came to power, this ex-admirer of the Duce has thus taken the head of the most right-wing government in the country since the birth of the Republic in 1946.
Unlike the German Chancellor, the American President and the representatives of the European institutions, Emmanuel Macron had not spoken on the subject since the appointment of Giorgia Meloni, the first woman to lead the third economy in the euro zone.
His visit to Rome is devoted to an international forum on peace, where he gave a speech in the afternoon, and an audience with Pope Francis scheduled for Monday morning. But the French president could not circumvent the Italian political context. While Franco-Italian relations risk experiencing some turbulence with the coming to power of the post-fascist leader at the head of a coalition dominated by the far right, Emmanuel Macron assured Friday that he was ” completely ready to work with the new Chair of the Board.
► Read also: New government in Italy: the EU worried, but ready to cooperate