Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni “made a surprise visit to meet Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago home.” The most interesting aspect to the casual way she just dropped in is the fact that Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with her in Italy. It’s clear she doesn’t care what Joe has to say, she wants to talk to the President.
Dropped in to visit
Her surprise visit to Mar-a-Lago on Saturday wasn’t totally unexpected. Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, didn’t just happen to be in the neighborhood. The meeting was, however, “hastily arranged.”
It was reportedly set up by Elon Musk. The “tech tycoon” has “established a close friendship” with Meloni.
She happens to be one of the most conservative figures in Italy, out in front of the country’s right-wing coalition. That makes her potentially a “strong partner for Trump.”
It’s clear from her visit that she wants nothing to do with Joe Biden and the Democrats.
“This is very exciting,” Trump declared on January 4. “I’m here with a fantastic woman, the prime minister of Italy. She’s really taken Europe by storm.” He was clearly pleased with her visit.
She wasn’t there to talk about trade tariffs or the NATO dues, though the subjects came up. The main topic of conversation was the “case of Cecilia Sala, an Italian journalist arrested and held hostage in Iran.”
Prisoner swap possibility
It seems that the United States is holding a prisoner of Swiss-Iranian extraction. He was arrested in Italy and also had been wanted by us for a little back door arms trafficking.
Meloni used her visit to sound Trump out about his willingness to turn him loose. If so, the Italians can swap him for their imprisoned reporter.
Prime Minister Meloni scored bonus points by her direct method of negotiation. In general, it’s U.S. policy not to negotiate with terrorists. While not totally out of the question, Italy knows they’re asking a lot. The personal visit was a nice touch and will go a long way in negotiations.
38-year-old Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi is “an engineer based in Switzerland.” We accuse him of violating “sanctions against Iran by procuring sophisticated electronic guidance systems for the country’s drone projects.” He needs to be on ice.
The Italians arrested him at the Malpensa airport in Milan on December 16. Three days later, 29-year-old Sala was “detained.” She’s currently “imprisoned in Tehran’s notorious Evin jail.” They don’t really need charges but say she’s being held for “violating the law of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Italy has a policy of doing whatever it takes to get hostages back, no matter how distasteful. Kidnapping is a longstanding core part of their culture. Meloni tapped Musk to set up the visit because the last thing they want is “a diplomatic rift between Italy and the U.S. at the start of the Trump presidency.” They picked the right strategy to advance that goal. “By all accounts the Mar-a-Lago meeting went well.“
