Bavaria's head of government is planning a two-day trip to Rome, including an audience with the Pope. The visit is undoubtedly spicy – but also politically exciting.
All observers confirm that Meloni has moved towards the center since taking office. Polls predict that the “Fratelli d'Italia’ will at least double in the June election. Meanwhile, Lega leader Mattheo Salvo Salvini, one of Rome's coalition partners, is falling in the polls. The meeting with the Albanian Edi Rama was also a state matter, not a party matter. Meloni is likely to be about, among other things, migration and the construction of a hydrogen pipeline across the Alps. She is clearly pro-Ukrainian, and at a distance from Europe critics such as Hungary’s Viktor Orban. Her government's refugee pact with Albania, which could curb smuggling crime and the sea rescue dispute in the Mediterranean, is also seen positively in the CDU/CSU parties.