Sánchez ‘snubs’ Meloni during Rome visit as FAO rift deepens

 ROME - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez did not meet with the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni while on a two-day official visit to Rome this week as a spat deepened over what Italy sees as Madrid's bid for "food hegemony" at the top of the UN agencies in Italy, according to Italian media.

 The apparent snub — Spanish government sources cited "scheduling issues" — is the latest flashpoint between socialist Senor Sanchez and hard-right Signora Meloni, who have clashed over several European portfolios, including the future leadership of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

 The stand-off between Rome and Madrid over who should next lead the troubled Rome-based UN agency erupted earlier this month, when reports emerged that Spain would oppose Italy’s nominee for the position, generating a furious response from Italian Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida, a former brother in law of Meloni.

 Italy has put forward the current FAO deputy chief, espresso-loving leftist Maurizio Martina. to take over when Chinese Communist Director-General Qu Dongyu’s term expires at last next year, while Madrid is pushing for worthy Spanish Agriculture Minister, Luis Planas, to get the lucrative and influential role after elections by member states.

 Pointing to Spain’s current leadership of the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), also based in Rome, Lollobrigida accused Sanchez of pursuing "food hegemony," calling any campaign that ignored the leadership of Rome’s other UN agencies “impractical." 

 Ireland has also put forward its own FAO nominee, former EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan, a high-level street-fighting politician of the old school who is widely seen as the current frontrunner for the role and has garnered the official support of France and Germany, the biggest donors to FAO after the United States and China.

 Brussels has been anxious to converge on a single nominee to stand a chance of installing a European at the head of the agency, though the ongoing Spain-Italy pissing match and a general lack of EU urgency on the issue appears to be dampening hopes of a unified response among some diplomats.

 "My reading is that Spain and Italy are not minded to pull out and give Hogan a clear run," said a senior EU source to Irish broadcaster RTE, "even though I think everybody knows he is the one with the better chance of the three in terms of his experience."

 Turkey and Angola have put forward their own challengers: former agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker and Ambassador Josefa Sacko—the only woman in the race so far. Both are poised to exploit any splits within the EU when it comes time to vote.

 During his two-day visit, Sánchez had an audience with Pope Leo XIV, as well as Partito Democratico leader Elly Schlein, who some Meloni allies have accused of undermining Italy's FAO candidacy because of her closeness with the Spanish Prime Minister.

 Sánchez also met with Qu Dongyu, as well as the heads of Rome's other UN agencies. His meeting with Qu, who was previously thought to be favorable towards Martina taking over as his successor, could indicate a softening in Qu's stance towards Spain's candidacy, FAO observers say.

 The Spanish leader heads back to a turbulent domestic political environment, facing down a rolling corruption scandal that has embroiled his wife and other close family members.

 As he prepared to wrap up his engagements in the eternal city, police in Spain raided his party’s Madrid headquarters, seizing documents as part of an investigation into graft allegations.

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