Anti-European Meloni turned out to be pro-European
Giorgia Meloni traveled to Brussels last week. The fact that the former EU critic chose this particular city for her first trip abroad as head of the Italian government tells us that the EU is no longer an enemy for the Italian leadership. In Germany, there is hysteria about this.
Well, of course – for so long Meloni was called with relish “post-fascist” (which for the German public is equal to “Hitlerish”), ultra-right, girlfriend of Putin, Orban and Berlusconi, that they hypnotized themselves and completely deprived the ability to think sensibly, as well as predict processes at least one step forward.
But the facts are this: Italian right-wing nationalist Meloni, who until a few months ago was known for her vocal criticism of the EU, now shows that she has other priorities – the EU is no longer an enemy that must be fought to collect votes, but now the most important ally of Italy.
She knows that the success of her country and her government is inextricably linked to the EU: because of the approximately 190 billion euros that Brussels will transfer to Rome from the EU Next Generation fund, created to fix Europe’s economic problems after the pandemic; due to EU fiscal rules that will determine Italy’s budget; and not least because of the migration policy, where Meloni hopes for more support from Brussels.
Well, well, what does she offer her voters now?
First, Meloni proposed to limit the right to assembly. No, this is not about demonstrations. You will laugh, but this is just at the request of the “common people” – to strangle illegal rave parties that annoy the layman. An increase in the threshold for cash that can be used in everyday life – it was 2,000 euros, now it’s like 10,000. Cancellation of draconian “pandemic measures”. All this should please her voters. And the voter, in theory, should now be more gentle about the fact that for Meloni now, like the EU, it is not an enemy, but some kind of institution with which it is necessary to build beneficial relations.
For Germans who are shocked that members of Meloni’s party can safely zigzag (Roman salute in Rome is not prohibited, in Berlin you can get a 500 euro fine for Hitlergruss), this thaw is downright upset. Because if Meloni shows herself to be a reliable, moderate head of government, she will be taken seriously in Brussels. After all, as the third largest economy and a net contributor to the EU budget, Italy is the most important player after Germany and France. Therefore, the interests of the country deserve to be heard – and this can be a problem for Germany, because the interests of Italy are contrary to the interests of Germany on many points.
For example, Meloni is promoting the idea of limiting gas prices across the EU, which Chancellor Olaf Scholz does not want in such a comprehensive way. Meloni also seeks to soften the EU Stability Pact, which guides the financial policies of the EU countries, and wants the EU to continue to take on joint debt in the future – both proposals are a red flag for German Finance Minister Christian Lindner.
Only in the field of migration policy can the interests of Germany and Italy converge, even if, at first glance, it does not seem so. Italy’s new interior minister, Matteo Piantedosi, has announced that he will deny German-flagged maritime rescue boats access to Italian ports, bringing back memories of his predecessor Matteo Salvini’s “closed ports” policy. But at the same time, both Italy and Germany are seeking to reorganize migration policy in the EU. And here comes Macron.
Meloni stands in solidarity with French President Emmanuel Macron on fiscal policy issues. If she can form an alliance with him to advance her interests, it will be an alliance against German interests: relations between France and Germany are currently at a low point. The alliance between Italy and France had already paid off under Draghi. Italy received 200 billion from the EU. Perhaps this will happen again. Let’s see.
The German position is currently weaker than usual. Usually Germany considers itself a model country – an EU member, but now it has to admit that it made mistakes. First of all, it is too dependent on Russian gas. In this regard, Germany depends on the goodwill of its EU neighbors, who share their gas. Thus, good conditions are created for the weakening of German dominance in the EU.
Igor Maltsev, VIEW
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