With the return of Donald Trump and the collapse of the government in Berlin, German-American relations will soon change, and the resulting void may be filled by other European leaders. However, the establishment mouthpiece, the Wall Street Journal, favors Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The paper attempts to push Viktor Orbán to the curb, despite Orbán’s ardent support for Trump throughout the last four years.
According to the paper, no one is in a better position to work with Trump than Giorgia Meloni. The paper claims that she understands the new American president since, like Trump, he was a political outsider who was branded a populist. Moreover, she also defied the expectations of his opponents and built a serious political movement.
The paper also notes that many of Trump’s closest allies, including Elon Musk, admire the Italian prime minister.
“On policy, the two leaders will find common ground. Ms. Meloni’s government has focused on stemming uncontrolled immigration. Mr. Trump’s first task as president will be to untangle the Biden administration’s open-border policies. Both leaders have been eager defenders of traditional values,” writes the Wall Street Journal.
It is important to note that Meloni has been rather unsuccessful at slowing illegal migration. Remix News has covered how she has backtracked on many of her old positions and even embraced mass immigration.
In regard to foreign policy, the WSJ also claims: “Ms. Meloni has demonstrated moral clarity in foreign affairs too. Unlike other European leaders, she has unambiguously backed Israel and condemned Hamas. She has encouraged the West to continue supporting Ukraine and spoken forcefully against Vladimir Putin. Deterrence, she noted this year, ‘is the best guarantee that there will be no escalation.'”
Again, the paper’s claim about her “unambiguously” backing Israel is not entirely accurate, as her recent statements tend to contradict this. In fact, she has one of the most restrictive policies on arms exports to Israel in Europe, a point she is not afraid to tout in parliament.
🇮🇹🇮🇱 Meloni comes out against Israel
"We've blocked everything," she said in parliament.
She added that her country has the "strictest" rules against weapons for Israel of any EU country. pic.twitter.com/zcEhznQzoA
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) October 18, 2024The Wall Street Journal also highlighted that, according to some, “Trump’s most obvious European ally is Viktor Orbán.” However, according to the newspaper, Meloni would be much more “credible” and suitable.
The Wall Street Journal is attempting to put distance between Trump and Orbán, writing: “Mr. Orbán is limited by his poor standing in the rest of Europe. Hungary’s representative to the European Commission was assigned to the lackluster health and animal welfare portfolio—and his confirmation may still be rejected by the European Parliament. Ms. Meloni’s pick was rewarded with a coveted executive vice presidency.”
Orbán’s standing among the EU power elite, the same people vehemently opposed to Trump, may be poor, but that is because he has more or less the same agenda as Trump. These EU’s leaders are openly hostile to Trump and have very little interest in handing him any wins.
If anything, Orbán will help Trump further his agenda. That is not to say that Meloni cannot also be a suitable ally in some circumstances, but sidelining Orbán would be a betrayal of Trump’s agenda and a betrayal of one of his biggest backers in Europe.
There is very little chance of Trump discarding a loyal ally, especially when a newspaper that has consistently opposed Trump over the years is the one making such a recommendation.
