Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will receive German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Rome on Saturday.
Merz is traveling to the Italian capital on the occasion of the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV on Sunday and will use the opportunity for a bilateral meeting with Meloni on the eve of the event in the Vatican.
Merz is a member of the conservative Christian Democratic Union party. Meloni is Italy’s first female prime minister since World War II and holds strong conservative views on issues such as migration.
Merz’s visit comes after a media report suggesting that the German government has downgraded the importance of diplomacy with Italy caused a stir in Rome.
On Thursday, the conservative German daily Die Welt reported that an early draft of the new German government’s coalition agreement listed Italy as an important partner and member of an expanded European axis, alongside France and Poland.
However, in the final agreement, Rome is no longer mentioned in this context. According to the newspaper, the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), Merz’s coalition partner, reportedly insisted on the change.
Lars Klingbeil, a member of the SPD who serves as vice chancellor and finance minister, will be accompanying Merz on the trip to Italy.
Several high-ranking Italian politicians have expressed outrage at the news.
However, a German Foreign Office spokesman denied the report, stating that Italy is welcome as a member of the Weimar Plus format, which is an extension of the Weimar Triangle diplomatic forum with representatives from Germany, France and Poland.
