As Meloni’s Italy Reverses Its Troubling Fiscal Trajectory, Rome Re-Emerges as Global Dealmaker

The members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee will want to brush up on their Italian.For Italy’s premier, Giorgia Meloni, richly deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.From Italy’s big, beautiful bridge — the Ponte sullo Stretto — to the Ukraine Recovery Initiative, to the Magic Boot’s strategic pivot to the Indo-Pacific, Signora Meloni is rewriting the book on global harmony and security.And it’s a forward-looking, peace-building, paradigm-shattering agenda. Imagine a transformed 21st-century world of sovereign states competing, working, and trading with one another against a backdrop of international stability.No one envisions a planet devoid of conflict, however. Owing to Signora Meloni’s conservative principles, her approach is a hardheaded and pragmatic one.In truth, the premier is harnessing the concept of geo-economics in the service of statecraft, solidifying the interconnectedness between nations, and adapting Edward Luttwak’s brainchild for today’s international stage.Yet where Luttwak spoke of employing the “logic of conflict with the methods of commerce,” Signora Meloni uses this doctrine to eschew hostilities while promoting amity via entrepreneurship. And she is doing so while significantly paring down Italy’s enormous public debt.Turning John Maynard Keynes’s bon mot on its head, the Meloni government maintains that in the long run, we will not be in the red.Thanks to the economy minister, Giancarlo Giorgetti, Italy has begun to reverse a troubling fiscal trajectory, enabling Signora Meloni to promulgate her bold geoeconomic agenda.In convening the Ukraine Recovery Conference at the La Nuvola Convention Center at Rome’s Esposizione Universale Rome business district, Signora Meloni cited Italy’s post-World War II economic miracle as an inspiration.“We Italians know full well what it means to arise from the rubble,” she declared.Once peace comes, the prime minister noted, “Ukraine can do it, too.”“This conference will be the starting point for the miracle of Ukraine’s reconstruction. Investing in Ukraine is not a gamble; it is an investment in peace and in the growth of Europe as a whole.”And she promised that Rome will be at Kyiv’s side.In addition to President Zelensky other world leaders were in attendance — including Chancellor Merz; Poland’s premier, Donald Tusk; Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sanchez; the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen; and President Trump’s envoy to Ukraine and Russia, General Keith Kellogg.President Macron and Prime Minister Starmer joined the proceedings via video conference.Yet Signora Meloni was the chief protagonist at this fourth annual Ukraine Summit.And she delivered, securing “€10 billion in deals spanning defense and infrastructure,” Decode39 reported.Specifically, “With the rebuild priced at $1 trillion, Italy is leading efforts — from shipyards in Odessa to rail links to Trieste — while barring firms tied to Russia.” Signora Meloni, too, “used the moment to double down on her pro‑Kyiv stance, despite Moscow’s predictable pushback,” Decode39 added.And Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, echoed Signora Meloni’s assertion: “From Rome, a clear message is sent: Ukraine is not alone. We want to contribute not only to the resistance, but also to peacebuilding.”Mr. Tajani signed several agreements with the Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, including one for the reconstruction of the entire Odessa region.Additionally, as detailed in Il Tempo, the president of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, pledged Italy’s “full support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Italy’s deputy prime minister and transport minister, Matteo Salvini, who is the prime mover in bringing the Ponte sullo Stretto to fruition, executed a key element of the Meloni government’s global linkage between East and West.According to Decode39: “Salvini tied the future Messina Bridge to closer ties with Tokyo. The trip underscored growing industrial and geopolitical alignment, with Japan eyeing Italy as a reliable partner amid tensions with the U.S. and Rome seeking a greater role in the Indo-Pacific.”In 2024, Rome and Tokyo announced the Japan-Italy Action Plan, forging a major strategic partnership.And the Pacific deployment last year of the Italian aircraft carrier Cavour extended Rome’s reach in the Far East.In dispatching Mr. Salvini to the Akashi Strait Bridge to sign a key infrastructure cooperation memorandum, Signora Meloni is charting a diplomatic course that could well engender an enduring fratelli del mondo.

As Meloni’s Italy Reverses Its Troubling Fiscal Trajectory, Rome Re-Emerges as Global Dealmaker

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