Italian prime minister gets five-star White House welcome

NEW Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte met US President Donald Trump on Monday at the White House. Mr Conte is emerging as Mr Trump's strongest supporter in Western Europe with speculation over a potential populist Washington-Rome axis underpinned by disruptive diplomacy.

While Mr Trump has only met Mr Conte twice before Monday, at the recent G-7 and Nato summits, he has already declared him "a really great guy" and that he "will do a great job - the people of Italy have got it right". This political affinity rests not just on apparent personal chemistry (Mr Conte has been called Mr Trump's new "favourite"), but also the alignment of their policy positions of key issues such as Russia and immigration.

Take the example of Russia where Mr Conte tweeted his backing for Mr Trump's remarkable call in June for Moscow to re-enter the G7, rejected summarily by all of the other members of the club of western powers. The Italian premier's backing for the US president on this controversial issue reflects the fact that the two anti-establishment political parties which comprise the Italian government - The League and Five Star - have long sought a re-evaluation of Rome's relationship with Moscow, including calling for the lifting of EU sanctions.