Crisis in the Middle East, military operations in the Red Sea, regional elections in Sardinia, relations between Palazzo Chigi and Quirinale. Giorgia Meloni answers a bit of everything in the press briefing with journalists on the sidelines of the bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Toronto. “I noticed a great convergence and a great interest in the priorities of the Italian presidency of the G7,” assured the Prime Minister to journalists who followed her for two days in the United States and Canada. Among the very first points on which Meloni was questioned were the controversies linked to the beatings against certain students in Pisa, also condemned by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella. In recent days, Meloni has also intervened in the debate, deeming it “very dangerous” that institutions remove their support for the police. Words that many interpreted as a not too veiled response to the Quirinale. However, Meloni denies it today: “I see an attempt to construct an artificial confrontation with the president of the republic for party interests, but in reality this confrontation does not exist”, the Prime Minister responds angrily to journalists .
Relations with the Quirinal
To those who tell him of a certain “discontent” filtered by the Quirinal concerning his declarations, Meloni responds as follows: “From what I know, the Quirinal does not let his moods filter. When he wants to say something, he says it.” Then comes the real clarification. When he spoke of “institutions” that withdraw support from the police, he was not referring to Mattarella at all, but rather “to the left, which is never capable of expressing solidarity with the police” and would use the figure of the President of the Republic “to protect the opposition to the reform of the post of Prime Minister”. Meloni therefore reassures that relations with the Quirinale “are excellent” and “there is no distance on this issue”. The Prime Minister admits that “yes, there were probably errors” on the part of the police, “but the responsible authorities will evaluate them”.
Hope for regional elections in Sardinia
During the back and forth with journalists, Meloni also returns to the regionals in Sardinia. Center-left candidate Alessandra Todde announced her victory, but in the last hours – with the final sections still to be examined – her advantage over her rival Paolo Truzzu has narrowed. “Let's wait for the recount and see what to do, it seems to me that the gap is narrowing, things went less badly than they seemed,” commented the Prime Minister.
Crises in the Red Sea and the Middle East
On the foreign policy front, Meloni praised the Italian military, which today shot down a Houthi rebel drone that was heading dangerously toward an Italian ship. “If the Red Sea were not usable, we would at best have an increase in the prices of all products reaching our markets via this route. This is why a European mission is underway,” explained the Prime Minister. As for the conflict between Israel and Hamas, Meloni recognized that “a significant effort is underway on everyone's part” to achieve to a truce agreement on Gaza. “I also proposed to Biden and Trudeau to make one statement of the G7 also on the theme of the Middle East, hoping that this could contribute to de-escalation”, revealed the Prime Minister.
Africa and artificial intelligence
Among the topics discussed during the bilateral meetings in Washington and Toronto are two of the priorities of the Italian presidency of the G7: attention to Africa and the risks of artificial intelligence. On the first front, Meloni confirmed what Italy has done so far: “Over the past year, the focus on Africa as a strategic continent has changed a lot. We are beginning to realize the importance of a continent that holds 60% of rare earth, 60% of arable land and a growing population. Africa has extraordinary opportunities and with new cooperation, on an equal footing, it can produce great results for the whole world. » So far, Meloni says, everyone has worked individually with African countries. One of Italy's goals for its rotating G7 presidency is to “put this work online” and “also involve the private world.” On artificial intelligence, the Prime Minister rather claimed the desire to “govern developments to guarantee that the impacts do not exceed the benefits”. Italy's focus, Meloni explained, will be particularly on the impact on the labor market: “We risk creating a world in which fewer and fewer people are needed. This risks creating a verticalization of wealth and a greater gap between classes. »
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