Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni praised Tesla CEO Elon Musk for his innovation and support, highlighting their strong relationship amidst critic

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.

PM says her relationship with U.S. president-elect is “very solid” and insists his recent incendiary remarks flow from a “peace-through-strength” approach.

Following Meloni's comments, Musk responded on X, saying, “And Soros is being defeated." Earlier on Thursday, Meloni also defended Elon Musk's increasing involvement in politics, stating that she had never discussed a potential deal with him to supply secure communications to Italy.

George Soros interferes in the domestic politics of other nations and uses his money to destabilise countries, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday.

Elon Musk is a “genius” who has been wrongly portrayed as a “monster” because of his political alignment with Donald Trump, Giorgia Meloni has claimed.

Musk's Italy representative Stroppa said in his post that the deal would save Italy more than €8 billion and would be up and running in a few months, rather than the eight to 10 years it would take competitors. Stroppa is one of the people named in an Italian probe of alleged corruption in public procurement contracts, Reuters reported last year.

What Meloni has shown — so far — is a certain mindfulness to the optics of appearing next to populist figures such as Argentina’s Javier Milei and Hungary’s Orban — also favorites of Trump. She is seeking to carve a path somewhere between the two as a more serious and institutional whisperer, officials say.

Australia may be an island, but it is not immune to the systemic forces sweeping across global politics.

Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni supports Elon Musk's involvement in European politics, denying any direct discussions regarding secure communications.

In a speech to the Oxford Farming Conference on Thursday, Steve Reed, UK government minister, announced that secondary legislation required to give force to 2023’s Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act would be introduced to parliament by the end of March.