Elections in Italy: the right has won, the return of the nation-state?

Georgia Meloni is the likely winner of the parliamentary elections and Italy’s first female prime minister, and everyone wants to know what the government’s new program for Italy will be.

It is known that Meloni’s program was approved by two ultra-right factions – the “Brothers of Italy” of Giorgia Meloni and “Lega” by Matteo Salvini, as well as the right-wing faction of “Forza Italia” Silvio Berlusconi.

Of course, much of what they jointly signed was signed with asterisks, for example, the material on European integration, which is clear to both Meloni and Salvini.

#ElezioniPolitiche2022 #Meloni pic.twitter.com/ZVtLmYqPkI

— Giorgia Meloni 🇮🇹 ن (@Giorgia Meloni) September 26, 2022

If a EU goes against the interests of Italy, stopping funding or using various “instruments”, as Ursula von der Leyen said, then relations with the EU will be reviewed, even hinted at an Italian exit, as the UK did.

Ursula von der Leyen threatened the future Italian government that she would use “the same tools (pressure) that are already being used against Hungary and Poland.” “If things go in a difficult direction, and I was talking about Hungary and Poland, we have the tools,” she continued.

“What is this, a threat? This is shameful arrogance,” Matteo Salvini, leader of Italy’s far-right Lega party, tweeted. He asked von der Leyen to “respect the free, democratic and sovereign vote of the Italian people.”

He also told Italian television that “if anyone in Brussels is thinking about cutting the funds that belong to Italy because Lega won the elections, then we need to reconsider this Europe”, adding that “this is an institutional intimidation”.

Therefore, it is clear that the program signed in terms of foreign policy will operate on the principle of “if … and then we’ll see.”

Italians tear down EU flags. It is reported that the protesters came to the headquarters of the European Union in Rome and changed the flag. Social media users write that the threats Ursula von der Leyen could not go unnoticed.

Foreign policy

• Compliance with commitments made within NATO.
• Support for Ukraine against Russian military intervention and support for all diplomatic efforts to find a solution to the conflict.
• In reality, support for Ukraine is more about honoring NATO commitments, but the new government wants an immediate solution to the Ukrainian problem, as it wants to restore supplies of Russian gas, on the basis of which Italian industry, like Germany, thrives and becomes competitive. It is committed to the process of European integration with the prospect of a European Union that is more political and less bureaucratic.
• Revising the rules of the Stability Pact.
• Protecting and promoting the historical and cultural Christian roots and identity in Europe.

Economy, society

• Fully use the resources of the European Recovery Plan, overcoming the current delays in the implementation of the program.
• Agree with the European Commission, in accordance with European rules, to revise the recovery plan in the light of new circumstances, needs and priorities.
• Reduce the tax burden for families, businesses and the self-employed.
• Abolish the minimum guaranteed income.
• Adjustment of the minimum pension, social benefits and disability benefits.

Institutions

• Direct election of the President of the Republic.
• Continue the process of recognizing the autonomy of the regions.

A family

• A plan to support and increase the birth rate through free nurseries, the establishment of nurseries in enterprises, libraries and playgrounds.
• Reduced VAT on goods for babies and children. Meloni’s position is no different from that of Hungarian Prime Minister V. Orban. “Mediation is impossible. Yes to the natural family. No to LGBT lobbyists. No to the violence of Islam, yes to more secure borders, no mass immigration, yes jobs for our people and no big international funding,” Meloni said at a campaign rally.

Security, immigration

• Fight against all forms of anti-Semitism and Islamic fundamentalism.
• Fight illegal immigration and manage the flow of legal immigrants.
• Promoting social integration and labor market integration of legal immigrants.
• Protection of national and European borders.
• Blocking ships carrying illegal immigrants as part of an agreement with the authorities of North African countries to prevent human trafficking and smuggling of illegal immigrants.
• Establishment of reception centers for foreigners in areas outside Europe administered by the EU to process asylum applications.

Energy, environment

• Sustainable energy transition.
• Increase the production of electricity from renewable energy sources.
• Diversify energy sources and implement a plan for energy self-sufficiency.
• Explore the possibility of safe use of nuclear energy.
• Respect and update Italy’s international commitments in the fight against climate change.

Much of what has been agreed as a program is expected to be changed along “traditional lines” with the nation state first word.

Before the elections, Meloni and Salvini, knowing about the Brussels “mechanisms” and internal neoclassical actors, avoided a direct pre-election clash, thinking strategically, and this was justified.

Meloni’s political beliefs mean that the EU declares war on Italy but cannot win it.

Italy is not Greece

If the EU cuts funding to Italy, it could increase tensions in an already divided Europe, and potentially trigger a backlash among the Italian population.

The European Union has already been hit hard by the UK exit, but there is one key difference in the case of Italy:

• Italy is a member of the Eurozone. One of its 3 economic pillars.
• A crisis in relations with Italy could lead to its exit from the EU, which may mean the end of the euro. Therefore, von der Leyen should be very careful when she talks about “coherence instruments” for Italy.

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