ROME — Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was briefly wrongfooted by a surprise question about ants on Thursday (Jan 9) when she faced a grilling by Italian and foreign reporters lasting more than two hours.

After covering major domestic and international issues, such as Italy's dealings with Elon Musk's Starlink, the war in Ukaine and Donald Trump's return to the White House, proceedings took a slightly surreal turn.

"I'd like to ask you a very simple question. I hope a far-reaching one, too...prime minister: do you step on ants? Do you pay attention when you walk?", Meloni was asked by a video journalist, originally from Bulgaria.

He said the question was connected to a folk saying about treading on ants leading to rainfall.

Looking visibly taken aback, Meloni laughed nervously.

"Do I walk on ants? Well, if I see them no, I confess. But I don't see them all the time. Is that the right answer? I don't know, what can I say? I'm at a loss, guys," she said, before moving on to the next question — which was about Musk's contested political views.

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