Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni flipped her friendly ties with Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán to come out looking like a major power broker at this week's EU summit.
But their friendship is more shallow and brittle than it appeared, while Orbán may ultimately prove a burden to her ambitions, some analysts say.
Meloni's office told Italian media on Thursday (1 February) that she was the "lead player" in getting Orbán to drop his veto on Back our independent journalism by becoming a supporting memberGet EU news that matters
Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's Foreign Affairs Editor. He has been writing about foreign and security affairs for EUobserver since 2005. He is Polish but grew up in the UK. He has also written for The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The Times of London.
Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's Foreign Affairs Editor. He has been writing about foreign and security affairs for EUobserver since 2005. He is Polish but grew up in the UK. He has also written for The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The Times of London.