The Iron Ladies of Europe find common cause on migration

In a polarised world in which most people of different political stripes can barely look at each other without vomiting in their mouths, the warm gal-pal relationship between Italy and Denmark’s leaders certainly provides a point of intrigue.

Right-winger Giorgia Meloni and centre-left figure Mette Frederiksen are the only female heads of government in the otherwise boys’ club of European Union member states. They might not agree on everything, but they have found plenty of common ground to form a strong bond, including staring down Donald Trump in big biffos – Frederiksen over Greenland (Opens in new window) and Meloni refusing to let Italian military bases be used for operations in America’s war with Iran (Opens in new window).

The two leaders have also demonstrated considerable against-the-odds political staying power. On 4 September, Meloni is set to break Silvio Berlusconi’s record of 1,412 continuous days in office, leading the longest Italian government since the Second World War – a remarkable achievement in a country that has had 68 governments since 1946. Meanwhile, Frederiksen, the youngest prime minister in Danish history, has led the country since 2019, securing a third term in office following this year’s election (Opens in new window).

But it’s their hawkish approach to immigration policy that has proved the cornerstone of their working relationship.

Since Meloni became Italy’s first female prime minister in 2022, the two have held multiple informal meetings (Opens in new window) to build a coalition of European governments in favour of the EU adopting a harder line on migration. Their runs on the board include helping to change the EU’s reluctance to deport migrant criminals (Opens in new window) as well as EU rule changes to allow controversial third country return hubs for unsuccessful asylum seekers (Opens in new window). (Watch this space: Italy already has a deal with Albania to host migrant centres but has faced ongoing legal hurdles (Opens in new window), while a .)

In recent weeks, cooperation has ramped up further – Frederiksen and Meloni rallied together 20 other European leaders to gang up on Spain over the Ceuta migrant rush and demand an emergency EU meeting (Opens in new window).

As the political ramifications from Ceuta continue to play out (Opens in new window), Meloni and Frederiksen’s solidarity lends credibility to each other while providing a masterclass in wedge politics.

This week, they posted a joint letter on social media (Opens in new window), reiterating their desire to borrow from Australia’s border security approach and protect European values.

“Together, we have succeeded in shifting the balance when it comes to criminal foreign nationals in the context of the European Convention on Human Rights. So more should now be expelled! And what comes next? Return hubs in third countries and other innovative solutions outside Europe must be implemented. And we are working hard on it. But that is not enough,” the letter read.

“We both are proud of Europe’s Christian cultural heritage and want to protect it. We expect those who come to our countries and choose to make Europe their home to respect our values and not impose a way of life upon us that we do not want.”

Playing the “Copenhagen card” (Opens in new window), as an Italian newspaper called it, allowed Meloni to tell political rivals on the left: “You see, not all socialists in Europe think like you,” while simultaneously showing migration muscle against her biggest opponent on the far right, former Italian army general Roberto Vannacci. The letter’s timing was also useful to Meloni because it ended a perception of isolation within Europe, after Italy was the only country to suspend the Schengen passport-free travel zone (Opens in new window) with Spain and introduce temporary border controls following the migrant surge.

The letter with Frederiksen also distracts from an ongoing dispute Meloni’s government has with Berlin, which wants to send back asylum seekers who settled in Germany but had first entered the EU through Italy. Under the Dublin regulation (Opens in new window), those applying for asylum must have their case assessed by the first EU country they arrive in. But Meloni has refused to have a bar of that rule. With the far-right Alternative for Germany gaining in the polls, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz needs to beat his chest and send German-based asylum seekers back to Italy. A showdown is brewing for 19 August – when Germany plans to deport a 22-year-old Somali woman (Opens in new window) to Italy.

For Frederiksen, the letter with Meloni has helped her outflank the One Nation equivalent party in Danish politics. Danish People’s Party leader Morten Messerschmidt pressured her to bring back parliament early from the summer break for an emergency debate about the Ceuta migrant crisis (Opens in new window) and how to protect Denmark’s borders. The Danish People’s Party used Tuesday’s debate to demand Denmark pulls out of Schengen (Opens in new window), a move that Frederiksen’s government warned could make the country a magnet for asylum seekers. The joint letter with Meloni thus helped Frederiksen ward off any accusations she’s soft on migration.

Ahead of the Italian election next year, expect to see more joint social media musings from these Iron Ladies of Europe.

As former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright famously said (Opens in new window): “There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other.”