Italy’s Starlink deal is a different kind of national surrender

The entire Italian political class seems resigned to the country's role as a satellite of foreign powers

A shorter version of this article was previously published in UnHerd.

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Since becoming prime minister, Giorgia Meloni has developed a notable rapport with Elon Musk, as testified by Musk’s attendance at the 2023 edition of Meloni’s political festival, Atreju, and his conferment, last year, of the Atlantic Council’s “Global Citizen Award” to Meloni. Their relationship has attracted significant attention in recent months with regard to a potential €1.5-billion deal to employ Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service for the provision of secure military communications to the Italian government.

Starlink, operated by SpaceX, uses a constellation of low Earth orbit satellites to provide internet connectivity, particularly to underserved or remote areas. The service has been operational in Italy since 2021, serving approximately 50,000 customers, but discussions with the Italian government suggest a possible expansion into secure government communications. The talks reportedly include provisions for military communications to Italy’s estimated 7,000 troops deployed overseas and emergency services like disaster response or counter-terrorism operations — for which Meloni says there is “no public alternative”. However, the prime minister’s office has denied signing any contracts, emphasising that talks with SpaceX were still “in the preliminary stage”.

The potential deal has stirred a heated debate in Italy. Opposition parties, primarily the Democratic Party (PD), have voiced significant apprehensions about the deal, arguing that entrusting Italy’s sensitive government and military communications to a foreign private entity like SpaceX raises series concerns about national security and sovereignty. One senator from the PD, for example, has described this move as an “unacceptable sell-out of national sovereignty”, highlighting the danger of relying on a company owned by Musk, known for his controversial political stances and close ties to right-wing figures internationally. The fear is that sensitive data could potentially be at risk if not strictly managed under Italian or European control. Critics of the deal argue that that Italy should foster its own technological capabilities or support the European Union’s satellite programs like IRIS, set to launch in 2029, rather than outsourcing to a US-based company.

There’s also concern over the economic implications of the deal. Critics within the PD suggest that this partnership might sideline local and European companies, thereby affecting job opportunities within Italy’s telecom sector. The opposition has pointed out that Starlink’s services directly compete with local telecom operators, potentially leading to market monopolisation by SpaceX. This could have long-term negative effects on Italy’s telecommunications industry, reducing the incentive for local innovation and investment.

Many of the opposition’s criticisms are valid, but the rhetoric about national sovereignty rings hollow coming from the Democratic Party. Since its inception in the mid-2000s — and even in its previous post-communist incarnations — the party has consistently championed and facilitated the extensive transfer of Italy’s economic sovereignty to the European Union. Indeed, it has often dismissed the very notion of national sovereignty altogether, preferring to it the concept of “European sovereignty”. Furthermore, the party has remained largely silent about the many Italian companies that have come under foreign ownership in recent years — often under its watch — or about the increasing influence of US investment funds, particularly BlackRock, in some of the country’s largest corporations.

So it seems pretty clear that their true concern isn’t Italy’s national sovereignty (which has already largely been forfeited to the EU) or the country’s security and economic dependence on the US (which already exists) — but rather Musk himself. The opposite could be said about Meloni, of course. There is good reason to believe that, from her standpoint, the deal is more about political allegiance than strategic necessity — that is, about cementing her relationship with Trump and his incoming administration. Ultimately, the entire Italian political class seems resigned to the country’s role as a satellite of foreign powers, with the only real dispute between the government and the opposition being whether it should be more subordinate to Brussels or to Washington.

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Thomas Fazi

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Twitter: @battleforeurope

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