Italy Is Getting Cold Feet Over Deal to Use Musk’s Starlink
Meloni and her entourage have privately been staggered by the magnitude of attacks on long-established tenets of foreign affairs by Trump and his new administration.
Photographer: Nyimas Laula/BloombergThe Italian government is having growing doubts about closing a €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) deal with Elon Musk’s Starlink in light of the US pullback from commitments to European security, people familiar with the matter said.
Possible alternatives to Starlink for secure satellite-based communications to the government include Eutelsat Communications SA, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are confidential. Musk, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, is also seen as an unreliable partner by some in Meloni’s administration, they said.