Politics
Meloni faces referendum defeat due to her Trump ties
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is lurching so far to the right that her friendship with Donald Trump and allied tech-bros may have cost her a key referendum.
Trump as “repellent”
In a referendum she called on judicial reforms, Italians vote 54% for the “No” campaign, while 46% supported the “Yes” vote Meloni backed.
The Conversation recently reported that any association with Trump now acts as a “repellent” for Italy’s political class. This doesn’t exclude the political right and is precisely the pathway that led to Meloni’s referendum defeat. The outlet also noted that Peter Thiel’s recent Rome visit sparked Catholic outcry, with Italians labelling Palantir CEO a heretic and an opponent of the Church doctrine. That didn’t go down well.
References to Trump now act as a repellent for the entire Italian political class, including the right. This factor played a role in the vote against the referendum, which is a major blow for Meloni. It is also worth noting that the visit of Palantir CEO Peter Thiel to Rome in March 2026 sparked both calculated political indifference and an outcry among Catholic circles: Thiel was labelled a heretic and an opponent of the social doctrine of a religious institution that remains steadfast in its defence of democracy.
This marks a sharp contrast with the warm welcome Meloni reserved for Elon Musk until 2024.
The FT reported that while Meloni’s friends include MAGA ideologue Steve Bannon and Thiel’s PayPal co-founder and longtime friend Elon Musk, Pope Leo XIV has warned of the dangers of AI.
According to MSNBC, Thiel sold out Rome to preach that Western civilisation is crumbling. He piled the blame on “people who strive for peace, work for justice, and want to embrace diversity.”
Starmer needs to pay attention
Starmer would be wise to take note of these events. Italians have started resenting Atlanticism—like in the UK, where polling showed significant opposition to the prospect of the UK blindly supporting Trump’s Iran war.
Meloni obviously ignored these signs. ECFR polling from last November showed a significant decline in trump advocates, even among members and supporters of Meloni’s party, Brothers of Italy.
The lesson for Starmer is clear. Atlanticism has a cost. In Italy, that cost was a referendum defeat.
Labour’s recent loss of a hundred-year seat to the Greens should have been a wake-up call.
Lucy Powell had an epiphany—voters need a reason to back Labour. Perhaps Powell and her boss, Starmer, should smell the coffee and accept that piggybacking with Trump and his tech-bro allies will cost Labour what little support they have left.
Featured image via the Canary
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