Giorgia Meloni, the first woman in history to lead an Italian government, has clear ideas, ambition, authority, courage, and firmness. The first months in the Italian government have shown what the leader of the right-wing Fratelli d’Italia party is made of. She intervened with a courageous budget maneuver that was aimed at helping businesses and households due to the rise in energy prices after the war in Ukraine, put her hand on a first draft of tax reform, confirmed tough laws for mafiosos and terrorists, and has tried to work with the EU to find solution to the immigration problem.
While all of these are deserving of attention, it is in foreign policy that the young and ambitious Italian prime minister has given the best of herself. Her first international appearance in Bali, with talks with Biden and the Chinese Xi Ping, shows how the Italian conservative leader is working to increase the role of her country on the international stage. That she has also held the position of president of the ECR, the group of European conservatives—of which one of her MEPs Nicola Procaccini is also co-president—has certainly contributed to increasing Italy’s weight and relevance in Europe and beyond.
Meloni now seems to want to use her position of strength both at home and in Europe. It appears she is hoping to take advantage of the leadership vacuum created after the end of the Merkel era to create a new center-right alliance that can lead the Right to a large majority in the 2024 European elections. As an Italian prime minister with a large majority, she is well-positioned to lead a growing number of countries that are increasingly fed up with the excessive power held by the Franco-German alliance. If Meloni’s project to unite the European People’s Party (EPP) with the conservatives of the ECR is successful, the European elections of 2024 could be decisive. In fact, such an alliance could give the center-right a full majority in Brussels, making a commission possible that would be more attentive to the requests of Italy, Greece, Spain, and Eastern European countries.
The war in Ukraine has certainly changed the balance of power and alliances in Europe. It is clear that, for the U.S., the countries of Eastern Europe have become much more strategically vital than France or Germany. The fact that in the government of Poland and the Czech Republic there are two historical and faithful allies of Meloni contributes to making the Italian premier a privileged interlocutor in the eyes of Washington. Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, Meloni has firmly condemned the Russian invasion. While Germany and France have been hesitant, she has supported the decision to send military aid to Ukraine. This has positioned her as a reliable ally in the eyes of the U.S.
Many argue that the tense relations between Meloni and the French president Emmanuel Macron are due, above all, to a subtle battle of attrition to conquer that European leadership. After Merkel, the leadership is still without a legitimate owner. In just 100 days of government, the Italian premier has done much more in foreign policy than many of her predecessors, and this certainly cannot please the French president, who tries in every way to put a spoke in her wheels. Her trips to Africa, Libya, and Algeria have laid the foundations for increasing the Italian (and consequently European) diplomatic weight in a quadrant such as that of the Maghreb. The Maghreb has always been considered strategic, but for some years has been under the strong influence of Turkey and Russia, which have been very good at filling the void left by an increasingly absent and divided Europe on major foreign policy issues.
Her activism in foreign policy positions her to serve as the leader of a new conservative axis in Europe, overcoming the current excessive power of France and Germany. The next elections in Europe will be essential to understand if her project to build an alliance with the EPP will be successful. The hope is thus to arrive at a clear center-right majority in Brussels in 2024. Meloni, whose intent would be to build a large conservative party in Italy, to modify Europe from within, and she aims for less bureaucracy and interventionism on general issues such as common foreign policy economic issues. The next European elections will be crucial for breaking the domination of liberals and socialists in the European Parliament.
In Europe, Meloni is seen as a breath of fresh air compared to the past—and after the approval of the pension reform, she can exploit Macron’s increasing weakness on the domestic front. In Italy, Meloni can count on a solid majority, which allows her to govern with peace of mind and to give the country the reforms it has needed for some time, starting with fiscal ones, which it is launching these days.
If Meloni’s project is successful, it is easy to see how she could soon become the most important leader in Europe, and that is why many, including Macron, are doing everything they can to stop her.
Giorgia Meloni: The Leader of the European Right?
Giorgia Meloni, the first woman in history to lead an Italian government, has clear ideas, ambition, authority, courage, and firmness. The first months in the Italian government have shown what the leader of the right-wing Fratelli d’Italia party is made of. She intervened with a courageous budget maneuver that was aimed at helping businesses and households due to the rise in energy prices after the war in Ukraine, put her hand on a first draft of tax reform, confirmed tough laws for mafiosos and terrorists, and has tried to work with the EU to find solution to the immigration problem.
While all of these are deserving of attention, it is in foreign policy that the young and ambitious Italian prime minister has given the best of herself. Her first international appearance in Bali, with talks with Biden and the Chinese Xi Ping, shows how the Italian conservative leader is working to increase the role of her country on the international stage. That she has also held the position of president of the ECR, the group of European conservatives—of which one of her MEPs Nicola Procaccini is also co-president—has certainly contributed to increasing Italy’s weight and relevance in Europe and beyond.
Meloni now seems to want to use her position of strength both at home and in Europe. It appears she is hoping to take advantage of the leadership vacuum created after the end of the Merkel era to create a new center-right alliance that can lead the Right to a large majority in the 2024 European elections. As an Italian prime minister with a large majority, she is well-positioned to lead a growing number of countries that are increasingly fed up with the excessive power held by the Franco-German alliance. If Meloni’s project to unite the European People’s Party (EPP) with the conservatives of the ECR is successful, the European elections of 2024 could be decisive. In fact, such an alliance could give the center-right a full majority in Brussels, making a commission possible that would be more attentive to the requests of Italy, Greece, Spain, and Eastern European countries.
The war in Ukraine has certainly changed the balance of power and alliances in Europe. It is clear that, for the U.S., the countries of Eastern Europe have become much more strategically vital than France or Germany. The fact that in the government of Poland and the Czech Republic there are two historical and faithful allies of Meloni contributes to making the Italian premier a privileged interlocutor in the eyes of Washington. Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, Meloni has firmly condemned the Russian invasion. While Germany and France have been hesitant, she has supported the decision to send military aid to Ukraine. This has positioned her as a reliable ally in the eyes of the U.S.
Many argue that the tense relations between Meloni and the French president Emmanuel Macron are due, above all, to a subtle battle of attrition to conquer that European leadership. After Merkel, the leadership is still without a legitimate owner. In just 100 days of government, the Italian premier has done much more in foreign policy than many of her predecessors, and this certainly cannot please the French president, who tries in every way to put a spoke in her wheels. Her trips to Africa, Libya, and Algeria have laid the foundations for increasing the Italian (and consequently European) diplomatic weight in a quadrant such as that of the Maghreb. The Maghreb has always been considered strategic, but for some years has been under the strong influence of Turkey and Russia, which have been very good at filling the void left by an increasingly absent and divided Europe on major foreign policy issues.
Her activism in foreign policy positions her to serve as the leader of a new conservative axis in Europe, overcoming the current excessive power of France and Germany. The next elections in Europe will be essential to understand if her project to build an alliance with the EPP will be successful. The hope is thus to arrive at a clear center-right majority in Brussels in 2024. Meloni, whose intent would be to build a large conservative party in Italy, to modify Europe from within, and she aims for less bureaucracy and interventionism on general issues such as common foreign policy economic issues. The next European elections will be crucial for breaking the domination of liberals and socialists in the European Parliament.
In Europe, Meloni is seen as a breath of fresh air compared to the past—and after the approval of the pension reform, she can exploit Macron’s increasing weakness on the domestic front. In Italy, Meloni can count on a solid majority, which allows her to govern with peace of mind and to give the country the reforms it has needed for some time, starting with fiscal ones, which it is launching these days.
If Meloni’s project is successful, it is easy to see how she could soon become the most important leader in Europe, and that is why many, including Macron, are doing everything they can to stop her.
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