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How ‘stable’ Starmer won over far-right Meloni in softer Brexit diplomacy mission

On paper, a meeting between centre-left Sir Keir Starmer and right-wing Italian leader Giorgia Meloni should have been be fraught with the potential for clashes.

She leads a party widely considered to be far right – Brothers of Italy, as it is named, even has historic links to the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement – and was publicly very close to Conservative former PM Rishi Sunak. The two rose to power around the same time and were often pictured embracing warmly, with Sunak regularly praising “Giorgia” for her tough approach to migration.

Starmer leads left-leaning Labour which has just won a decisive general election and consigned the Tories – and Meloni’s ally – to years of opposition.

But it is the decisiveness of his victory in June’s general election that, according to insiders, means Starmer is an attractive proposition to EU leaders in need of stability after a difficult few years politically on the continent. Which is why it suited both he and the Italian PM to turn on the charm.

Meloni was quick to extend the formal bilateral invitation to the Prime Minister after the two had met, and got on well, at the European Political Community (EPC) summit in July.

In Rome this week, they met for a working lunch – tomato ravioli for the vegetarian British PM. The leaders had so much to discuss that their meeting overran considerably and conversations continued during a walk in the garden of the 17th-century Villa Doria Pamphili.

The two exchanged gifts, as is customary, with Starmer given a pair of cufflinks and Meloni receiving whisky glasses. But in an extra personal touch, the British PM took a birthday present for Meloni’s daughter Ginevra, who turned eight on the day of the visit. The PM gifted Ginevra – known to be a feline lover – with a packet of biscuits branded with images of Downing Street cat Larry.

Sources said European leaders were also keen to make inroads with Starmer because they believe he will be around for a while. They are impressed with the size of Labour’s election win and believe that, in contrast to some leaders on the Continent, he represents stability and longevity, i understands.

Starmer and Meloni are also united by a shared challenge around tackling irregular migration and boat crossings – something put into acute focus in the UK by yet more deaths in the Channel over the weekend. Eight people drowned trying to cross the water in a small boat.

Against political instincts, the centre-left Labour leader has found himself looking to the right-wing Italian PM for advice on how he can find a way to deal with this challenge and not meet the same fate of the Tories before him who tried, and failed, to get a grip on the crisis.

Starmer has also made no secret of his intentions to repair fractured relations with European allies, after the tense years of post-Brexit negotiations put a strain on Britain’s allegiances with the Continent.

True to his word, he has travelled to Germany, France, Ireland, the US and now Italy within the first months of his premiership as he seeks more investment in the UK from European and American companies. In Italy, the PM was able to announce millions of pounds of investment in the British defence and steel industries by Italian companies.

But the main item on the agenda was illegal migration. Italy has been at the forefront of Europe’s response, dealing with processing high numbers of asylum seekers and grappling with boatloads of migrants seeking a new life on the Continent.

Italy has seen a 60 per cent fall in such arrivals since it started investing more in tackling the issue upstream. The Labour Government wants to replicate this work through its new Border Security Command.

Offshore processing of such arrivals is one of the policies pursued by the Italians – Rome has signed a deal with Albania that will see arrivals sent to the country to have their claims considered there. Those approved will then be allowed to set up a life in Italy.

Starmer said he is open to a similar scheme and Meloni used the press conference to highlight that the British leader had expressed an interest. “The UK Government has shown great interest in this agreement” she stressed – emphasising the point in the face of challenging questions over accusations of human rights abuses.

His willingness to engage on such a topic raised eyebrows among those on the left, with some MPs uncomfortable with the first Labour government in years cosying up to a right-wing administration over the issue of migration.

Labour MP Diane Abbott pointed out on X that Amnesty International had condemned Italy’s approach to processing migrants and accused them of breaching international law. And Italian Deputy PM Matteo Salvini is currently facing a possible prison sentence after being charged with kidnapping over his decision to prevent a ship, holding almost 150 migrants, from docking in 2019.

Sources close to Starmer brushed off any suggestion of concerns over this. Members of the PM’s entourage said there was no awkwardness over the political differences – stressing the focus was on watertight relations with allies.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, the Prime Minister stressed the point that Italy was “an ally” – a member of Nato and of the G7.

“I don’t think anybody will think it’s sensible for us not to continue with that strong bilateral approach on those really important global issues which is what we discussed today,” he said.

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