Rome (AFP) – Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni denied Thursday talking to Elon Musk about a cybersecurity deal with the American billionaire’s SpaceX company following reports that sparked controversy in Italy. “I have never spoken personally with Musk about these matters,” she told journalists at her annual press conference in Rome.
In the wake of Meloni’s whirlwind visit with President Donald Trump in Florida on Saturday, Italian media reported that Rome was in advanced talks with SpaceX for a 1.5-billion-euro ($1.6 billion) contract to provide Italy with secure telecommunications. In a message posted on his X network on Monday, Musk said he was “ready to provide Italy with the most advanced and secure connections”.
Meloni acknowledged on Thursday that “SpaceX has presented the government with a technology that allows secure communication at the national level but above all at the global level”. She said that for Italy it “means above all guaranteeing secure communications with our diplomatic missions and, for example, our military contingents abroad”.
Rumours a contract was discussed on the sidelines of Meloni’s visit to Trump prompted outraged reactions from Italy’s opposition parties. The head of the main opposition centre-left Democratic Party (PD), Elly Schlein, demanded on Monday that Meloni and her government “immediately report on the discussions with Musk”. “If 1.5 billion euros of Italian money to use the satellites of an American billionaire in our country is the price to pay for his friendship, we do not agree,” she said.
Meloni’s office denied “categorically” media reports that stated that the contract with SpaceX was “discussed during the meeting with President-elect Donald Trump”. And on Monday the government said it “denies that contracts have been signed or that agreements have been reached between the Italian government and the company SpaceX to use the Starlink satellite communications system”.
“The discussions with SpaceX are part of the in-depth talks that state bodies have with companies, in this case with those dealing with protected connections,” it added in a statement, acknowledging that negotiations were under way. Musk, 53, is the richest man on the planet and spent at least $250 million on Trump’s presidential election campaign. As a reward he was named head of a new body charged with cutting public spending.
In an interview published on Friday by the Corriere della Sera, Meloni claimed to have “excellent relations” with Musk, whom she described as “a genius” and “an extraordinary innovator who always has his eye on the future”.
© 2024 AFP
