As of: March 25, 2024, 4:02 p.m
By: Babett Gumbrecht
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Giorgia Meloni is Prime Minister of Italy.
© Mauro Scrobogna/dpa
Italy's parties are positioning themselves for the European elections: There is disagreement, particularly among the right, on the question of who should be supported in the future.
Rome – Italy is already in the middle of the European election campaign.
The fight is with tough bandages and accusations.
It was only at the weekend (March 23rd) that the congress of the right-wing European party family Identity and Democracy in Rome came to a showdown.
Le Pen, a member of the French National Assembly, spoke in a video message on Saturday.
In it, she attempted to corner incumbent Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni over her loyalty to Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
“A message to Giorgia: will you support a second term for von der Leyen or not?
I think so.
You owe the Italians the truth;
“You have to say what you are going to do,” demanded Le Pen in her video message.
Le Pen also said that Matteo Salvini was the only right-wing candidate running against von der Leyen.
She thanked those who support the Lega to elect MPs who “will not lie, will not maneuver and will be clear, explicit and decisive,” reports the
news portal Euroactiv.
The Italian Prime Minister is considered von der Leyen's confidant.
Meloni has indicated her support for a second term in office for the Commission head, which the two right-wing politicians Le Pen and Salvini reject.
Meloni and Salvini want to prevent von der Leyen's re-election
Meloni is in a coalition government with Salvini (ID) and Foreign Minister Antoni Tajani, whose Forza Italia party is part of the conservative EPP group in the European Parliament.
The Prime Minister herself is President of the European Conservatives and Reformers (ECR).
This means that the Italian government at the European level is divided between the three right-wing factions in the European Parliament.
Salvini and Le Pen have promised to have as many of their party members as possible elected to the European Parliament in June to strengthen their EU Identity and Democracy (ID) group.
They also said they would do everything to prevent von der Leyen (EPP) from receiving a second mandate.
Salvini responded on stage in Rome: “The voters who choose the Lega will never vote for a second term with von der Leyen and the Social Democrats.” He added: “They are trying to divide us, but they will Salvini said to Meloni: “I found a friend in Giorgia Meloni.
Of course, there can be different points of view even among friends.” He added that “the Italian coalition government will continue to exist until 2027.”
For the first time, election forecast from the same polling institute: Right-wing parties are gaining voters
The latest forecasts for the European elections, which will take place from June 6th to 9th, 2024, predict right-wing pressure.
For the election forecast, Euronews commissioned the market and opinion research institute Ipsos to make a forecast about the composition of the next European Parliament three months before the EU elections.
According to the
German Press Agency (dpa)
, this is the first time that an EU election projection was implemented on the basis of national surveys carried out in parallel by the same opinion research institute.
For this purpose, Ipsos surveyed over 25,000 eligible voters in the 18 most populous countries in the European Union about their intention to vote.
The results are representative and represent around 96 percent of the EU population and 89 percent of MEPs.
The election forecast shows that the two right-wing populist and nationalist factions would gain ground as things currently stand: The Identity and Democracy (ID) faction, to which the AfD also belongs, would have 81 MPs (previously 59).
The Group of European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), whose largest party is currently the Polish PiS, would grow from 68 to 76 seats.
(bg/dpa)