FLASH
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As the Italian Prime Minister walked the red carpet, Edi Rama threw aside his umbrella and knelt, holding his hands in prayer...
A handshake and an official photo were not enough.
As Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, walked the red carpet laid out for leaders arriving in Tirana for the European Political Community Summit, Edi Rama, the Albanian prime minister, threw aside his umbrella and knelt in the rain, his hands held in a prayer position.
"Eddie, no," Meloni said, smiling, as she approached him. "He only does that so he's as tall as me," she then joked, to the assembled reporters, as he stood up and they hugged.
Mr. Rama, who is 1.88 m tall, surpasses Ms. Meloni, who is 1.68 m and one of the shortest European leaders.
But they don't just differ in physical form.
He is the leader of the Socialist Party of Albania, which is on the conservative right-wing end of Europe's political spectrum, yet there is a clear synergy.
Mr. Rama made a similar public gesture in Abu Dhabi earlier this year, kneeling before journalists and delegations in the United Arab Emirates to give her a scarf for her 48th birthday, and did the same in 2024 when he met Ms. Meloni for a summit in Azerbaijan.
"He is a gentleman and she has charm," said Germano Dottori, a member of the scientific advisory board of the Italian geopolitical magazine Limes, when asked to comment on the photo.
Ms. Meloni, who is separated from her former husband, has charmed tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has said he is a fan of her policies.
But Mr. Rama's behavior could also be strategic. Italy has provided large sums of money to host migrant centers in Albania and sponsors the country's integration into the EU.
Friday's meetings in Tirana set the stage for a flurry of diplomatic meetings in Rome, as leaders and religious figures from around the world arrive in the Italian capital to attend the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV on Sunday.
JD Vance, the US vice president, and Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, both Catholics, will attend the inaugural Mass on Sunday, which marks the official start of the Pope's papacy. / Adapted from The Telegraph /
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