Jo McKenna: Italy Correspondent on the latest conflict between Donald Trump and the Pope
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
In Italy, Jo McKenna, good morning to you. Good morning, Mike. Now, Marco's on his way to see the Pope again, and what's the outrage level this time with Trump and the Pope?
What recent conflict has arisen between Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV?
Well, we've got a fresh attack, as you might have heard, from Donald Trump attacking Pope Leo, accusing him of endangering a lot of Catholics because of his stance on the Iran war. And we were told by the Vatican that Pope Leo wouldn't be responding, but he did last night. He actually said he wanted to preach a message of peace, but anyone was free to criticise him. He said he'd never supported nuclear weapons and that those who criticise him need to speak the truth.
Okay, fair enough. Now, what was he doing on the phone to the bank? Is this possible that the Pope, does the Pope really ring up the bank?
What was Pope Leo XIV's response to Trump's accusations?
And what does he say? Does he go, hello, it's the Pope here?
It sounds like a bizarre story, but apparently after his election, he called his local bank in the US to say, oh, by the way, I need to change my details. And when he was speaking to the clerk, she said that you have to come in in person if you want to do that. And he said, I'm not going to be able to do that. And then after a little bit of back and forth, he said, what if I told you I was Pope Leo? And I'm told that she hung up on him.
And that was the end of that. I mean, how many crank calls do you get? This deep fake thing, I'm looking at the photo and Maloney shared this and this is not a news story per se. But I mean, where do you go with this? Because when you look at that photo, you think, my word, the technology is amazing, isn't it?
The technology is amazing. And I have to say to her credit, the Prime Minister, Georgia Maloney, was actually making jokes about these fake images of her wearing lingerie, saying that whoever created them has actually improved my appearance quite a bit. But at the same time, she's got a backlash because some people think it's authentic. And one user said that the Prime Minister shouldn't be presenting herself in such a state. It's truly shameful.
Yeah, but see, that's the problem, isn't it? She's trying to say one thing, and some people are so thick they can't work it out. So I just don't know what you do about that. I mean, are there laws? Are there rules? I mean, I assume that's illegal, isn't it?
Goodness knows. I don't know that the Italians have kept up with that just yet.
No, precisely. This IMF forecast, €2,270 per year. This is for energy, so this is gas and power, right?
Yeah, so energy costs could, in the worst case scenario, could cost Italians more than 2,200 euros. Economic growth, of course, in the eurozone is expected to slow.
What bizarre story involves the Pope calling his bank?
The IMF says there's mounting risk of recession, as we know, and Italy is particularly exposed.
Right, so what do they do with the EU? Do they go to the EU and say, can we have a little bit of wiggle room on the old debt ceiling, please?
Yes, can we have a little bit of wiggle room? They're pushing for greater flexibility to address the rising energy costs. Interestingly, the Prime Minister, Georgia Maloney, had a meeting today with her coalition partners. They want to focus on reducing Rome's energy dependence. Good luck with that. But I think behind that, Mike, they want to push for the reintroduction of or the introduction of nuclear power generators in Italy. Good.
It's funny you should say that because I'm a big nuclear advocate, not because I think we've all moved from from Three Mile Island and stuff. And if you want clean energy. then nuclear is clean and you've got your data centre debate and all that sort of thing. How angsty is nuclear in 2026 in Italy?
I think it would be very divisive, even though the French, of course, are a great example of where it can function very effectively. Is it a good idea in a country where there are earthquakes every second day? I'm not sure about that. You might know more about that in New Zealand than I do.
No, that's not an unreasonable point, I guess. How much is a house in Milan, by the way?
Oh, you've put me on the spot there.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:10
2
What recent conflict has arisen between Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV?
0:10–0:44
3
What was Pope Leo XIV's response to Trump's accusations?
0:44–2:28
4
What bizarre story involves the Pope calling his bank?
2:28–4:29
5
How is the issue of deep fakes affecting public perception?
4:29–4:42
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