Washington: Accusing left-wing politicians of being "nervous" over Donald Trump's victory, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said conservatives are unfairly labelled as a "threat to democracy" while leftist leaders are celebrated for similar global alliances.
"When Bill Clinton and Tony Blair created the global leftist liberal network in the 90s, they were called statesmen. Today, when Trump, Meloni, Milei or maybe Modi talk, they are called a threat to democracy. This is the Left's double standard," she said.
The Italian prime minister was addressing the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) via videolink from Rome, joining a roster of right-wing European politicians participating in the summit outside Washington on Saturday (local time).
Meloni praised Trump and US Vice President JD Vance while aiming at "elites" and left-wing leaders. "The Left is nervous, and with Trump's victory, their irritation has turned into hysteria -- not only because conservatives are winning but because conservatives are collaborating globally," she said.
The Italian PM said that despite media and political attacks, conservative leaders continue to win elections because "people no longer believe their lies."
"People are not naive as the Left considers them. They vote for us because we defend freedom, we love our nations, we want secure borders, we preserve businesses and citizens from green leftist insanity. we defend family and life, we fight against wokeism, we protect our sacred right to our faith and our free speech, and we stand for common sense," she added.
Meloni said that the United States and Europe would remain close under Trump, despite soaring tensions between the allies including over the fate of Ukraine.
Ties between staunch allies Europe and the United States have been strained in the first weeks of Trump's second term, as the US leader has reached out to Russia and warned of a shift away from Europe, raising fears of Trump's commitment to the NATO alliance. Blaming "ruling classes" and "mainstream media," Meloni insisted Europe was not "lost."
"Our adversaries hope that President Trump will move away from us (Europe)," Meloni said. But, "knowing him as a strong and effective leader I bet that those who hope for divisions will be proven wrong."
Meloni, leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, was the only EU leader to attend Trump's inauguration in January and her allies have presented her as a potential bridge between the European Union and the US president. But the nationalist leader has largely refrained from commenting on Trump's blitz of initiatives and comments since then.
Despite her strong support for Kyiv in its war with Russia, she has notably said nothing in public about Trump's interventions on the conflict -- this week calling Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky a "dictator" and falsely blaming Ukraine for starting the war. Trump has moved to sideline Kyiv and European allies from talks on the future of the three-year-old conflict, alarming allies who think he will offer concessions to Moscow.
On Saturday, Meloni said there was a "growing awareness in Europe that security is now the top priority" and praised support for Ukraine but did not comment on Trump's actions.
In Ukraine, "a proud people fight for their freedom against the brutal aggression," she said. "We must continue today, working together for a just and lasting peace, a peace that can only be built with the contribution of all, but above all, with strong leaderships." (With agency inputs)
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