Lago, an invitation to Monday's inauguration and good relations with Elon Musk, Italy's Giorgia Meloni has positioned herself as the closest mainstream European leader to Donald Trump.

After forging unexpectedly fond ties with U.S. President Joe Biden, Italy’s right-wing Premier Giorgia Meloni is poised to leverage a more natural alliance with President-elect Donald Trump that positions her as a key interlocutor between the U.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose rise to power in Rome two years ago sparked panic among the European political establishment, may now be the continent’s best hope to have one of its own in the good graces of the Trump White House.