Italy and the European elections: questions and negotiations…

How is Italy approaching the European elections? Daniele Zappala, journalist corresponding to Paris for the daily “Avvenire”, discusses speculation on the hypothesis of attempts at dialogue between on the one hand the Fratelli d’Italia party of Giorgia Melloni for the European group “European Conservatives and Reformists”, and on the other hand for the “Identity and Democracy” group, the National Rally.

Focus on Italy with Daniele Zappala, correspondent journalist in Paris for the daily Avvenire, on the next European elections. How are our Italian neighbors approaching these elections, knowing that the President of the Council, Prime Minister Giorgia Melloni, of the nationalist Fratelli d’Italia party, this party is a member in the European Parliament of the “European Conservatives and Reformists” group, with “Vox ” for Spain, “Reconquest” for France, “Law and Justice” for Poland, among others…

franceinfo: Daniele Zappala, what are the hypotheses, the negotiations, the speculations in Italy, some ten weeks before the European election?

Daniele Zappala: There is in fact a general feeling that this is a very important test for the ruling coalition led by Giorgia Meloni, the very powerful but also very controversial President of the Council. Projections in the polls give Melloni around 26.27%, against the two “fellow travelers”, Salvini and Forza Italia, both around 8%. So we can clearly see that it has this hegemonic role.

There are rumors that Giorgia Meloni would “start” a dialogue with the “Identity and Democracy” group in the European Parliament, which includes among others the National Rally, the German AFD, or even Mateo Salvini’s Lega for Italy?

It is true that Melloni aims to become the reference personality, but with possible aims also of alliances which currently frighten the centrists of the coalition of President Macron’s party. There is a lot of speculation in Italy today, on the hypothesis of attempts at dialogue between the two reference parties: on the one hand the Fratelli d’Italia party of Giorgia Melloni for the European group “Conservatives and Reformists Europeans”, and on the other hand for the “Identity and Democracy” group, the National Rally.

In Italy, we are perhaps talking about the first signs of a possible dialogue between these two forces. Even if quite a few analysts consider that there is a real gap on many points of the program, in particular the positions in relation to Europe. But let’s say that the recent attitude of Giorgia Melloni, particularly concerning her very Atlantic positioning, and her acceptance of European rules, has in any case lowered the alert level, truly, by several notches.

But where is the old Italian Christian democracy today, Forza Italia, the party of Silvio Berlusconi, member of the PP in the European Parliament?

So currently Forza Italia is today led by the former president of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani, who is therefore a bit of the political heir of Silvio Berlusconi, but it is a force that is very weakened. According to various surveys, it weighs between 7 and 8%.

And what about the Italian left, facing these European elections in Italy?

So the Italian left continues its process of recomposition, today, the Democratic Party which is in fact in a phase of rising consensus level with a new party leader, a young face, Elly Schlein who has American origins. She embodies the renewal in the Democratic Party, but many enmities prevent for the moment the broadening of the field of coalitions.

So, we have a landscape that is relatively fragmented around the Democratic Party, with many small parties, but in the center and on the left of the spectrum, there are a lot of negotiations underway. For example, Matteo Renzi, the former President of the Council, has just launched a federalist coalition which he called “Coalition of the United States of Europe” which represents something new. And so there could still be surprises.