ITALY’S BATMAN AND GERMANY’S COUNT OF MONTECRISTO: HOW MELONI AND MERZ ARE REDEFINING EUROPE’S DEFENSE IDENTITY

06/25/2025

by Francesco Galietti (founder of Policy Sonar, a Rome-based political risk consultancy)

Federal Chancellor Merz and the Italian Prime Minister Meloni © pa/dp

Giorgia Meloni and Friedrich Merz come from different backgrounds and experiences, yet their political trajectories are increasingly intersecting, shaped by the tectonic shifts in Europe and the world.

The Italian Prime Minister, a product of Rome’s working-class Garbatella district, and the German Chancellor, a Westphalian lawyer turned political heavyweight, both embody the restless energy of leaders who see politics as a calling rather than a profession. Their stories are not just about personal ambition but about the clash of national identities, the urgency of survival, and the search for a new language of power.

Meloni, perhaps best described as the Batman of Italian politics—a figure who wears the mask of the establishment but remains an outsider at heart—has built her career on resilience and reinvention. Abandoned by her father at a young age, she grew up in the shadow of hardship, her political instincts honed in the rough-and-tumble world of youth activism in nationalistic right wing circles. She is a streetfighter with a flair for the dramatic, a leader who knows how to turn adversity into a narrative of redemption. Her rise to the premiership is the story of a woman who remade herself as a defender of tradition and national pride, even as she distanced her party from its more extreme roots. For Meloni, politics is a mission, a crusade to restore Italy’s standing and protect its soul from the forces of globalization and fragmentation. Her style is populist, her rhetoric unapologetically nationalistic.

Merz, by contrast, is the Count of Monte Cristo of German politics—a man who was forced into exile by the formidable Angela Merkel, only to return years later, determined to reclaim his place at the head of the table. A lawyer by training, Merz spent years in the wilderness, biding his time, building alliances, and sharpening his arguments. His comeback was not guaranteed; he lost two leadership races before finally securing the helm of the CDU and, ultimately, the chancellorship. Merz is a strategist, a man who understands the power of patience and the importance of timing. His politics are shaped by a deep belief in the transatlantic alliance, but also by a clear-eyed recognition that the world has changed. He is not afraid to provoke, to challenge the consensus, to force the nation to confront uncomfortable truths.

Both Meloni and Merz are, in a sense, orphans of the United States. Merz, once a staunch Atlanticist, has come to realize that America’s commitment to Europe is no longer a given. The return of Donald Trump to the White House, with his America First agenda, has forced Merz to confront the reality that Germany must stand on its own feet. He has responded by turbocharging the country’s defense, pushing for a constitutional amendment to allow unlimited defense spending and launching a massive rearmament program. For Merz, the stakes could not be higher: Russia’s war in Ukraine, hybrid attacks on German infrastructure, and the looming threat of American disengagement have made European autonomy a matter of existential necessity. He is not just rebuilding Germany’s military; he is reimagining its role in the world.

Meloni, for her part, has cultivated a personal relationship with Trump, hoping to leverage her conservative credentials and populist appeal to secure Italy’s interests. But the reality of US policy has been harsh. Trump’s tariff inferno, targeting Italian exports from wine to machinery, has exposed the vulnerability of Italy’s export-led economy. The US market is crucial for Italy, generating tens of billions in revenue each year. Meloni has found herself caught between her ideological affinity for Trump and the hard facts of economic survival. She has tried to balance the need for transatlantic solidarity with the imperative of defending Italian jobs and industries, but the dilemma is far from resolved.

Both leaders also face resistance from within their own coalitions. Meloni must contend with Matteo Salvini, the leader of the League, who has been vocal in his skepticism about Western sanctions on Russia and who argues that the economic pain inflicted by these measures is greater than the damage done to Moscow. Salvini’s reluctance to antagonize the Kremlin is a constant source of tension, forcing Meloni to walk a tightrope between her Atlanticist instincts and the demands of her coalition partner. Merz, meanwhile, is struggling with the SPD, whose internal factions are calling for a resumption of dialogue with Russia and questioning the wisdom of rearmament. The SPD’s Eurasian reflex, born of a deep-seated pacifism and a desire to avoid confrontation, is a thorn in Merz’s side as he tries to rally the country behind his defense agenda.

Despite these challenges, Merz is not only turbocharging Germany’s defense but also revolutionizing the language of German politics. For too long, German leaders have hidden behind euphemisms and abstractions, sanitizing the horror of war and violence with terms like ‘collateral damage’ and ‘civilian victims.’ Merz has broken this mold, using blunt, visceral language to force the nation to confront reality. His recent remark that Israel is doing ‘Drecksarbeit’—dirty work—for Europe in its conflict with Iran sparked outrage but also cut through the fog of diplomatic niceties. Merz understands that words matter, that the way a nation talks about itself and its enemies shapes its future. By calling things by their true names, he is trying to shock Germany out of its complacency and prepare it for the challenges ahead.

Meloni’s fiscal headroom is more limited, and Italy’s public opinion is overwhelmingly pacifist. The rainbow-colored ‘peace’ flag remains a powerful symbol, and polls show that most Italians oppose rearmament and believe that defense spending should take a back seat to other priorities. Yet Meloni has not wavered from her ‘si vis pacem para bellum’ position. In a recent speech, she invoked the ancient Roman maxim—’If you want peace, prepare for war’—to argue that a strong defense is the best guarantee of peace. For Meloni, this is not just a matter of policy but of identity: Italy must be ready to defend itself, even if the public is reluctant to face the realities of a dangerous world.

In the end, Meloni and Merz are both grappling with the same fundamental question: how to lead their countries through a period of unprecedented uncertainty. Their backgrounds and styles may differ, but their challenge is the same—to forge a new language of power, to confront the ghosts of the past, and to prepare their nations for the storms ahead.

The convergence between Giorgia Meloni and Friedrich Merz is not only a matter of political rhetoric or shared challenges—it is also reflected in concrete, high-stakes defense deals. The landmark joint venture between Germany’s Rheinmetall and Italy’s Leonardo, known as Leonardo Rheinmetall Military Vehicles (LRMV), headquartered in Rome, is a powerful symbol of this partnership. This venture, valued at approximately 25 billion euros, will be the lead system integrator and prime contractor for Italy’s next-generation main battle tank and armored infantry combat system, with at least 60% of the value-added work to be carried out in Italy. Meloni herself has described the initiative as a ‘first nucleus’ of European defense industry cooperation, highlighting how Italy and Germany can together add decisive value to NATO and European security.