Meloni Rules Out Alliances With Opponents of Ukraine Aid

Giorgia Meloni, the Italian Prime Minister, rejected speculation that she could forge alliances with forces opposed to military aid for Kyiv. Speaking with Italian newspaper Il Foglio, Meloni said she was unwilling to abandon her convictions for electoral advantage.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “Giorgia Meloni is certainly not willing to do the opposite of what she has done so far, or of what she believes in, for political or electoral calculation,” she said, when asked whether she established clear red lines for entering into coalition. Her remarks pose a warning to Roberto Vannacci, the former general-turned-far-right politician and outspoken critic of the EU and military aid to Ukraine, who is seeking to capitalise on discontent with Meloni’s approach to Europe and foreign policy. “Anyone looking for a prime minister who changes her mind based on the support of this or that party, always and only for personal gain, should look elsewhere. “I am a serious person, and I am not good for all seasons.” Meloni is set to face voters in an election next year, having just become the longest-serving prime minister in the history of the Italian Republic. Vannacci’s rise in the polls could complicate Meloni’s future coalition-building for a second term. “For me, in these years, it would have been electorally more advantageous not to support Ukraine, rather than to do so,” Meloni said. Other Topics of Interest Sikorski Urges Aggressive NATO Drills Near Kaliningrad Polish FM Radosław Sikorski proposed aggressive NATO drills near Kaliningrad to compel Russia to redeploy troops away from Ukraine. “I did not support Ukraine for Kyiv, I supported Ukraine for Rome.” Defence spending has exposed tensions within Italy’s governing coalition, including with Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini’s League. Italy, she added, had everything to lose in an international system where the rules of peaceful coexistence between nations collapse and “the law of the strongest” prevails. The prime minister also defended increased defence spending, acknowledging its unpopularity. More than 44% of Italians now view defence expenditure as a cost to the country, compared with 32.1% who see it as a strategic investment, while nearly a quarter remain undecided, according to the private research institute Eurispes’ annual report. “Of course, it’s unpopular to say that we need to spend on defence as well. But unfortunately, it’s necessary,” Meloni said. See the original by Nicoletta Ionta here. Euractiv is a European news website focused on EU policies. It was founded in 1999 by the French media publisher Christophe Leclercq. The website's headquarters and central editorial staff are located in Brussels, with offices in Paris and Berlin.