Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has defended her friendship with US tech billionaire Elon Musk, saying that she can be a friend of Elon Musk and remain the head of the first Italian government that made a new law aimed at regulating private activity in space. According to a report, Meloni, while addressing a parliamentary session ahead of this week's European Union summit in Brussels, said that he has independence and that she will not be influenced in areas that are related to the billionaire's sprawling economic empire. She added that she shares 'good relationships' with many people, but she does not 'take orders from anyone'.
Notably, after Meloni's far-right coalition came to power in Italy in 2022, she has had frequent meetings with Elon Musk, that are reported to be aimed at attracting investments for the European nation. The Italian government has recently approved a framework which seeks to pave the way for foreign companies to operate in Italy. According to a report, the framework is likely to generate USD 7.6 billion.
Taking a jab at her predecessors, she said previous Italian leaders “who thought they had a good relationship, even a friendship, with a foreign leader, they had to slavishly follow what the others did."
Here's what Musk said about his friendship with Meloni
Meloni and Musk's friendship has attracted attention in the past. Musk denied a romantic relationship last September after a photo of them looking fondly at each other went viral. The two were at a black-tie event in New York where Musk had presented Meloni with an award.
Musk appeared a year ago at an event for youth members of Meloni's party in Italy. More recently, he took to social media platform X, which he controls, to attack an Italian court decision that has stymied Meloni's plans to vet migrants rescued at sea in Albania. Musk's comments drew a strong rebuke from Italy's president.
(With agency inputs)
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