The coalition’s junior partners, The League and Forza Italia, take opposing positions on the war in Ukraine and the European Commission’s plan to build up Europe’s security. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is walking a political tightrope
Giorgia Meloni’s key coalition right-hand men are causing her strife as their opposing attitudes to the Ukraine conflict and the EU response to it have been exacerbated in recent days.
Antonio Tajani of Forza Italia (European People’s Party) and Matteo Salvini of The League (Patriots for Europe) are both Meloni’s deputies, serving respectively as foreign and transport minister.
But they have long been at odds over key foreign policy issues: military aid to Ukraine, the EU’s rearmament plan, and relations with the US administration of Donald Trump.
“Tajani is in trouble over relations with the US, he should let us help him,” the League’s vice-secretary Claudio Durigon told newspaper La Repubblica on Sunday.
This followed a 15-minute phone call between League leader Salvini and US Vice President JD Vance on Friday held “in an atmosphere of great harmony”, according to the League read out.
Tajani hit back, saying that “foreign policy is done by the prime minister and foreign minister”, describing the call as a “personal initiative” by Salvini.
“Populist parties change their mind every day. Those who frequently shout, matter and rule little,” he added in a barb directed at Durigon.
The Italian press has reported that Tajani spoke to Meloni on the issue, expressing displeasure over The League’s attacks and suggesting that the tensions could lead to a government crisis.
Italian government’s positions don’t mix well
Forza Italia maintains a clear pro-European stance, firmly supporting military aid to Ukraine, praising the European Commission’s rearmament plan (now rebranded as Readiness 2030), and even advocating for the creation of an EU army in the long term.
“We are in favour of peace, but it must be a fair peace […] Europe must necessarily be at the table, since Europe has imposed sanctions on Russia,” Tajani told journalists of Donald Trump’s peace plan after the last EPP meeting in Brussels.
By contrast, The League has consistently been among the strongest critics of the EU’s strategy to support Ukraine and has praised Trump’s efforts to broker a peace deal with Russia, regardless of the concessions Kyiv may have to make.
This aligns with its sharp criticism of EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. “If it were up to her, we’d already be at war. She should go to the frontline herself,” Salvini said ahead of the last EU summit.
Ursula von der Leyen and her defence plan have also come under fire. “Rearming Europe is not the way to achieve peace,” Salvini declared during a conference.
Italy’s government welds a pro-European EPP party with a Eurosceptic Patriots for Europe member, a combination which has failed to work in Germany, Poland, Hungary and most recently in Austria.
“It’s clear that we as EPP have very different positions from the Patriots, as we believe in Europe. However, this does not prevent our parties from finding convergence at the national level,” prominent Forza Italia MEP Salvatore De Meo told Euronews.
He believes that Salvini’s call with Vance will not cause lasting damage, but stressed that foreign policy should be determined solely by Tajani and Meloni.
“I hope that the Italian government will progressively align with our position: building a true defence pillar in the EU by transcending nationalism,” he said.
Policy differences over EU-related issues are challenging the stability of Italy’s coalition, however. Up to now, Meloni has carefully balanced the competing stances of her junior partners. She has adopted an unflinchingly pro-Ukraine position, while ruling out dispatching Italian troops on the ground as a contribution to security guarantees in the event of any peace deal.
She has also stopped short of backing French President Emmanuel Macron’s push for greater EU strategic autonomy, instead stressing the need for Europe to maintain a strong transatlantic alliance.
Her political balancing act likely reflects the ambiguous evolution of her own Brothers of Italy party, which has evolved from a radical, post-fascist position advocating for Italy’s exit from the EU to a more conservative stance broadly supportive of EU membership.
The coming months may put these pro-European credentials to the test, and push Meloni more conclusively into one of the camps of her fractious coalition partners.
