Georgia Meloni is in hot water with Elon Musk’s SpaceX government negotiations

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Giorgia Meloni As Europe unveils its own rival satellite launch, the Italian government faces a political storm in its talks to secure a connection with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Musk said on Monday that his company is “ready to provide[the]most secure and advanced connectivity to Italy.” His comments on the social network X came later Italian The government acknowledged ongoing discussions about using Starlink services for “encrypted data communications.”

The deal, worth up to $1.5 billion, has sparked outrage among Italian opposition politicians.

Carlo Calenda, a former industry minister, warned on Tuesday that “contracting Musk for such sensitive services – when he is a supporter of the European far-right, spreads fake news and meddles in the internal politics of European governments – cannot be an option.”

“It’s not a solution consistent with national security,” Calenda said.

Eli Schlein, the leader of the largest opposition Democratic Party, has called on Meloni and her ministers to appear in parliament to explain the negotiations with lawmakers. SpaceX.

“If the price we pay for Musk’s friendship is $1.5 billion to put his satellites into orbit, we won’t accept it,” she said. “Italy is not for sale.”

Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said: “If Musk wants to invest in Italy, he’s welcome. If Musk wants Italian taxpayers’ money, Meloni needs to explain how, why and when.

Meloni has developed a close friendship with the richest man in the world, calling her “brilliant”. Mook described her as “authentic, honest and caring” and “more beautiful on the inside than she is on the outside.” Her office denied media reports that she had discussed a potential Starlink deal with US President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago last weekend, calling the idea “simply ridiculous”.

Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini dismissed the idea that there was any risk in the SpaceX contract and urged Meloni to rush to seal the deal.

“Musk is a major player in innovation on a global scale: a deal with him to ensure connectivity and modernization across Italy is not a risk but an opportunity,” Salvini said. “I believe that the government will move quickly in this direction.”

Defense Minister Guido Croceto told parliament last year that Rome had no choice but to involve SpaceX because of its monopoly on low-orbit satellite communications, and that a European alternative would take years to take off.

Regardless of people’s personal opinions about Musk, Crosetto said, “Now if you want to have low-orbit connectivity, you have to talk to Starlink.”

The European Union signed a €10.6 billion contract last month for an ambitious project to put 260 satellites in low and medium Earth orbit to provide secure communications to EU member states by 2030. Telespazio is among several European aerospace and communications companies involved in the initiative, called Iris², a combination of Italian defense company Leonardo and France’s Thales.

Beniamino Irdi, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a former foreign and security policy adviser to the Italian government, warned that Rome’s subscription to state communications Starlink could alienate Italy’s EU partners. The multi-orbit satellite project.

“It sends a political signal to the European Union,” Erdi said. “Iris² is a symbol of Europe’s strategic autonomy, and when a key member of the EU moves to another solution, it can be interpreted as a sign of withdrawal.”

But he said the Starlink offer is emblematic of potential tensions with U.S. allies, as they embolden the incoming Trump administration and its most powerful backer, Musk, to risk their long-term strategic interests.

“This could be a precedent for the United States’ foreign policy vis-à-vis its allies,” Irdi said. Knowing that Musk will play such a big role — and knowing that Trump is very transactional in nature — America’s allies are eager to appease Musk as a private actor and risk their core strategic interests.

Additional reporting by Giuliana Ricozzi