Conte lunches with Trump’s envoy, and politicians pounce

What was the Five Star Movement leader doing having lunch with the envoy of a president whom his own party calls a “bully” and a “gangster”?

For the Italian right, Wednesday was a political field day. Five Star Movement leader Giuseppe Conte was spotted by the right-wing daily Libero having lunch on Tuesday in Rome with Paolo Zampolli, an Italian-American businessman very close to Donald Trump – a sort of private ambassador holding the title of “Special Envoy for Global Partnerships.”

What was the Five Star Movement leader doing having lunch with the envoy of a president whom his own party calls a “bully” and a “gangster”? Conte explained that he accepted an invitation and, in the one-on-one meeting with Zampolli, laid out all his criticisms of the White House's illegal actions, from Venezuela to Iran. “No double-dealing,” Conte wrote in a Facebook post, stressing that “attacks contrary to international law, such as the one on Iran, can never, in my opinion, have Italy's support.” “I told Zampolli that this illegal attack must be stopped, not least because it is a complete failure,” he added. And again: “I reiterated that I will fight to ensure our bases are not made available not........

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