Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is at the top of her game, widely recognized as one of the most successful and popular political leaders in Europe, making the economy grow while keeping mass migration and human trafficking under relative check.
Yesterday (24), she received the Atlantic Council’s Global Citizen Awards at a black-tie dinner at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York.
The award was presented to her by tech billionaire and free-speech champion Elon Musk, who heaped praise on her, as the pair put on what NYP called ‘an enamored display’ on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
New York Post reported:
“Meloni ‘is even more beautiful on the inside than she is on the outside’, Musk gushed, according to Politico.
The X owner and father of 12 also described Meloni as ‘authentic, honest and thoughtful. […] That can’t always be said about politicians’, Musk joked, which earned a wave of laughter from the 700 attendees, according to the New York Times.”
When Musk presented Meloni with the prestigious award, the duo – according to the press – ‘appeared to stare briefly into each other’s eyes’.
It’s been reported that Meloni personally requested that Musk introduce her at the Atlantic Council dinner, an event that became ‘the social crown jewel’ of the United Nations General Assembly.
“When it was her turn at the podium on Monday, Meloni rewarded Musk’s effusive praise by calling him a ‘precious genius’ before launching into a strident defense of patriotism. ‘Defending our deep roots is the precondition for reaping ripe fruit’.”
Musk nodded in approval while Meloni spoke, and stood up to applaud when she finished. They were seated together at the event, deep in conversation.
“Meloni has emerged as a leading political force in the European Union since she became the first female prime minister of Italy nearly two years ago.”
Initially, some members of the Atlantic Council took issue with her past closeness with Russia and her party’s anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.
“The think tank, however, lauded her ‘strong support of the European Union and the trans-Atlantic alliance, and her 2024 chairmanship of the Group of Seven’.”
A year ago, this award was given to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
But this year, the stars were Meloni and Musk.
Politico reported:
“The two have met several times before, with Meloni hosting the billionaire at her official residence in Rome last year, where they discussed shared interests like the West’s declining birth rates and the potential of artificial intelligence. Musk was also a guest speaker at a political festival hosted by Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party last December.”
Following Musk’s remarks, Meloni, made a 15-minute speech espousing her vision of Western conservatism.
“Apart from a brief mention of Italy’s support for Ukraine, Meloni steered clear of contemporary geopolitical concerns. Instead, she embarked on a lengthy exposition of her conservative philosophy. […] Meloni embarked on a passionate defense of the ‘values’ of the West and ‘a civilization built over the centuries’.
Patriotism, she said, ‘is the best response to declinism’, as she challenged the notion of the ‘inevitable decline of the West’.”
Meloni championed patriotism, hailing the West as ‘a civilization built over the centuries’.
“’Our freedom and our values and the pride we feel for them are the weapons our adversaries fear the most’. […] ‘The West is a system of values in which the person is central, men and women are equal and free, and therefore the system is democratic and based on the rule of law. I ask and I wonder — are these values we should be ashamed of?’”
The Italian leader is a political force to be reckoned with on the EU stage specially after her party performed well in the European parliamentary election this summer.
“Meloni, who has previously spoken at CPAC, the U.S. conservative political conference that has become a go-to place for Trump’s brand of Republicanism, has stopped short of endorsing any candidate in November’s presidential election.”
Meloni is considered to be well-placed to become the EU’s interlocutor with Trump if he wins the U.S. election in November.
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