Jeff Sica of Circle Squared Alternative Investments discusses Trump’s ‘historic’ meeting with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at Mar-a-Lago and Apple’s stock performance.
When Italy’s Giorgia Meloni took over as Prime Minister in 2022, the country was not in good shape. But since then, the economy has recovered in ways few outsiders expected. Now the country looks healthier than Germany or France, the two largest economies in the United States European Union.
According to Trading Economics, Italy’s deficit was 8.1% of GDP in 2022. Unemployment in December 2022 was 7.9% and inflation was over 12%.
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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni talks to the press on June 8, 2023 in Rome, Italy. (Simona Granati – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images / Getty Images)
It is not just the government that says they have succeeded. The data shows it too. The deficit fell to an estimated 3.1% last year, inflation fell to 1.1% in November and unemployment fell to 6% in October.
In many ways the policy was similar to that of the United States US President Ronald Reagan in 1981. Reagan succeeded in transforming conservatism from an identity-based movement into a credible government force. Meloni has done the same. She did not leave her roots; she made them compatible with the responsibility of governing and with international dialogue, Cirielli said.
Meloni is also a close ally of President Trump.
Newly elected US President Donald Trump meets with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US, January 4, 2025. (Italian government/handout via REUTERS / Reuters Photos)
Deputy Foreign Minister Edmondo Cirielli, with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, during an election campaign rally on November 14, 2025. (Marco Cantile/LightRocket via Getty Images/Getty Images)
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Cirielli says the government is working to solve the demographic problem. “Italy experienced its own baby boom after World War II. That generation rebuilt the country, delivered the economic miracle of the 1950s and 1960s and sustained the social security system for decades,” he said, adding: “Meloni follows the same insight: without families and children there is no growth and no sustainable welfare state. That is why the government is focusing on birth rates, employment and support for families.”
Chandler also worries that some of Italy’s success was fueled by European Union funding and may not be sustainable. What essentially happens if the EU stops sending money to Italy?
EU flags fly in front of the European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, July 18, 2024. (Jana Rodenbusch/File photo / Reuters)
Cirielli isn’t worried. “European funds have helped, but are not the reason behind the success,” he says. “The Marshall Plan worked not just because of the money itself, but because there were governments that could use it effectively. That is what is happening in Italy today.” He thinks so credible leadershipthese funds can be converted into better infrastructure, innovation and jobs. “Funds should be treated as investments,” he said.
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There are also whispers around the world that more countries will want to leave the EU, following Britain’s so-called Brexit early this decade. However, Cirielli says no, Italy will not be better off outside the EU.
“The United States never left NATO when something wasn’t working. They chose to lead NATO and reform it from within. Meloni applies the same principle to the European Union. Leaving is not a serious option; reform is.”
