US, Meloni with deputies prepares meeting with Rubio: Hormuz at centre

Balance and diplomacy. Above all, no desire to chase Washington's provocations. On the day of the new attacks by Donald Trump on Pope Leo XIV and in view of the visit to Rome of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, expected on Friday at Palazzo Chigi, Giorgia Meloni chooses not to comment. Instead, the deputies will gather around the same table in the morning today to define the line to be taken in Rubio's 'courtesy visit', but also to try to close the circle of appointments in Consob and Antitrust and decide the government's next steps, after the launch of the labour decree and the home plan. With an eye on economic emergencies and energy, in the light of the warning from the International Monetary Fund.

The road to a mending with the United States appears to be uphill. The lunges against the Pontiff "are neither acceptable nor useful to the cause of peace", says the blue Antonio Tajani. "They are of no use", cuts short the leghist Matteo Salvini. However, he is in charge of keeping the bridge open to the US: "I am convinced that we are and will remain friends, regardless of this or that misunderstanding, this or that president".

A line, that of minimisation, which will have to face the facts: it is necessary to understand the real extent of the threat of the withdrawal of US soldiers from Italia, Germany and Spain, to which after Meloni also the leghists, through the mouth of the group leader in the Chamber Riccardo Molinari, have said they are against. And, above all, Italia needs to understand whether the fragile truce with Iran will hold. This is a vital issue for the Italian economy and its position towards the EU.

"The freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz is a fundamental principle of international law and essential for the global economy," the prime minister said in yesterday's only note referring to the conflict, circulated to express "closeness to the United Arab Emirates for the unjustifiable attacks suffered, which must immediately cease" and to renew Italia's commitment to "encouraging dialogue". Words that betray a desire to see Rubio clarify the contours of the US operation "Project Freedom" to unlock the Strait.

The blame for the paralysis in Hormuz is firm. As is the willingness, on the domestic front, to proceed with the appointments of the heads of the Authorities, announced last week as ready. At her talks with Tajani and Salvini, before flying to Gemona del Friuli for the 50th anniversary of the 1976 earthquake alongside President Mattarella, Meloni will try to ratify the agreement with the intention of passing the resolution for Consob as early as tomorrow in the Council of Ministers and start the process for indicating the successor to Roberto Rustichelli (who expired on 4 May) at the Antitrust Authority, which must be appointed by the presidents of the House and Senate. Among the names in pole there are those of the current secretary general of the Authority, Guido Stazi, and of the member of the board Saverio Valentino.  In the Leghist house there is a cautious optimism for the candidature of the current undersecretary of the Economy Federico Freni, but Fi's veto is not yet overcome. Prudence reigns. On this game and on the others.