Always make sure that your interlocutor is the right one, especially when you are the head of government. Having failed to take this precaution, the president of the Italian council, Giorgia Meloni, was trapped by a duo of Russian comedians – Vovan and Lexus – who posed as a senior African leader. Believing itself to be confident, far-right politics let go of a few confidences on the international situation which we detail here.
The war in Ukraine
Contrary to what Florian Philippot has argued on Twitter, Giorgia Meloni did not “spill the piece”. For a European far-right leader, her position is rather measured even if she has always supported Ukraine against Vladimir Putin, unlike the Hungarian Viktor Orban, for example. In this phone call, she explains “seeing a lot of fatigue […] from all sides” before continuing: “We may be close to the time when everyone will understand that we need a way out. » A position which is not very far from that professed by Chief of Staff of the American Armies, General Mark Milley, who called from November 2022 to a negotiated solution. Moreover, Giorgia Meloni is well aware of the difficulty of the matter: “The problem is to find a solution acceptable to both parties, without violating international law. »
Regarding the Ukrainian counter-offensive, she publicly said what everyone has long admitted: “it may not be going as planned.” “This did not change the outcome of the conflict,” she adds. Everyone understands that the conflict could last for many years if we do not try to find a way out. » Finally for her, the Ukrainians “are doing what they must do and what is right to do. And we try to help them. »
Immigration
More than Ukraine, this is undoubtedly the subject which is the most important for Meloni, who took the opportunity to complain about the arrival since the beginning of the year “of 120,000 people mainly from Tunisia”. Before attacking the European Union: “The EU has long thought it could manage the problem by letting Italy sort itself out. But they don’t understand that it’s impossible. This phenomenon affects, in my opinion, not only the EU but also the United Nations. But the problem is that other people don’t care. They don’t answer me when I call them. » And to conclude: “The EU says it understands the situation. But when I ask them to allocate funds, to help, it becomes more difficult, I have to tell the truth.”
Tension with the French in the Sahel
The tensions between Meloni and the French government are no secret, particularly on migration issues. However, the political instability in the Sahel which she attributes, in part, to France is, according to her, at the origin of these intense migratory flows which she does not want. So on Niger, where the French “have different priorities”, Rome and Paris are not on the same wavelength. France is “pushing a little bit for some sort of intervention, but I’m trying to understand how we can support diplomatic efforts.” We have to be careful, she confides. This is why we tell them that we must avoid situations that could create more problems than those we already know. »