Not long ago, Giorgia Meloni rose in Italian politics campaigning against migrants and the European Union while seeking alliances with supporters of Donald J. Trump.
Now prime minister of Italy, she would seem to have little in common with President Biden, who once compared the hard-right philosophy she shared with Mr. Trump to “semi-fascism.”But when Ms. Meloni visits Mr. Biden at the White House on Thursday, far from being a collision of worldviews, the meeting will, perhaps surprisingly, mark how much the two leaders are in sync on major international issues, such as support for Ukraine, suspicion of China and the need to strengthen NATO.
There are still real fault lines between them, such as gay rights, which, along with migration, originally made Mr. Biden nervous about Ms. Meloni.
But the meeting will amount to a recognition of what many analysts see as her shift to the center since she won elections and became prime minister last fall.
In Europe’s pitched debate about whether it is better to keep marginalizing far-right forces or bring them into the fold, Ms. Meloni, analysts say, has emerged as Exhibit A in favor of the normalizing powers of governing.
Persons:
Donald J, Biden, Trump, Meloni
Organizations:
European Union, Trump, Mr, White, NATO
Locations:
Italy, Ukraine, China