Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi will visit the US on a state visit this week, consolidating relations between the two countries ahead of the US election and Italy’s constitutional referendum.
Barack Obama will host Renzi and his wife Agnese Landini at a state dinner on Tuesday, marking the last last formal dinner of his presidency. The visit will strengthen the burgeoning relationship between Italy and the US, with Renzi emerging as one of the biggest champions of a strong US-European relationship.
Renzi has been working with the US on a UN-backed unity government in Libya and, in a controversial move, gave the US the go-ahead to use American bases in Sicily to conduct drone strikes against Islamic State. He was an early supporter of Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid and recently hired Obama’s former campaign manager, Jim Messina, as an advisor.
In turn, Barack Obama has leant his support to Renzi during his campaign for a ‘Yes’ vote in December’s constitutional referendum, on which he has bet his premiership. Much like David Cameron in the EU referendum, Renzi anticipated an easy win in his referendum on constitutional reform however, the result is now looking less than clear. A recent poll by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera found that the results are likely to be close; 23 percent of the electorate supported a Yes vote, 25 percent were opposed, and 52 percent were either undecided or would not respond.
In a statement ahead of the dinner, the US said:
“Italy is one of our closest and strongest allies, and we cooperate across a range of shared interests, from addressing climate change and the global refugee crisis to promoting global security and inclusive economic growth.”