Less than two months before the election of the new European Parliament, Italian politics is in turmoil. The results of the vote can change the balance of power in national politics. And if Giorgia Meloni should keep her title of leader of the majority of the right with flying colors, the future of the other leaders is more uncertain. In Rome, there is electricity in the air.
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From our correspondent in Rome,
THE Fratelli d’Italia by Giorgia Meloni still attract almost a third of voters in Italy. But among its allies, the Europeanists of Forza italia can surpass the League. Accused in his party of vegetating in the shadow of Meloni, Salvini would be in despair. The support of Marine Le Pen brought him nothing and a good number of Leghists, supporters of the Northern League, would like to change leaders and return to the regionalist sources of the League.
Opposite, the common opposition front announced a year and a half ago is dying. The democratic leader Elly Schlein and Giuseppe Conte, of the 5 stars, have no longer spoken since the former proposed to Meloni to collaborate to confront the crisis in the Middle East.
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And Europe in all this?
In both camps, Europe is a delicate issue between allies who do not agree. Giorgia Meloni, for example, was elected as a nationalist, but over the past year and a half, we have seen her close to Biden, Ursula Von der Leyen, etc. In Brussels, she joined the majority of European leaders on Ukraine and the Middle East, while Salvini has only just renounced the cooperation pact he had with Putin’s party and is campaigning for more from Italy and less from Europe.
On the other hand, it’s the same: the Democrats are always pro-Western and Europeanist. Giuseppe Conte of 5 stars is a sovereignist, with sympathy for Putin, for Trump and poorly concealed anti-Israel impulses. They are incapable of tackling the elections together.
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A return of Mario Draghi?
But this week, suddenly, Europe entered the debate in force. With the publication in Brussels of the report by the former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta for a revival of the internal market and the declarations of the former governor of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, for a European surge in the face of China and the United States. Two Italians now dominate the 27’s thinking about the future. In Rome, politicians are forced to emerge from their ambiguities.
As for whether any of these former Italian heads of government could play a role at the head of a European institution, there is much talk about a possible return of Mario Draghi to the European scene.
“ We are not there yet », Giorgia Meloni cautiously responds when asked. It is certain that Draghi has all the qualities to lead the Commission – if the 27 decide for the first time to choose a “technical” president – or the European Council to replace Charles Michel. The former banker would be a profile of choice for the revival of a Europe in need of growth. The Italian press, in any case, already believes it.
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