Meloni not to take center-right win for granted and wait for elections

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
20 Sep 2022 19:01

Giorgia Meloni, the head of the far-right Brothers of Italy political party, tells an Italian broadcaster that she will not discuss ministries at this stage as the election results should not be taken for granted.

Giorgia Meloni the head of the Brothers of Italy political party (AFP)

It is premature to talk about the center-right coalition's triumph in Italy's upcoming parliamentary elections since the formation of a new government will be debated after the vote, according to Giorgia Meloni, the head of the far-right Brothers of Italy political party.

Meloni's party is anticipated to receive the highest number of votes in the upcoming snap parliamentary elections, scheduled for September 25. The coalition of center-right forces in Italy, which also includes the Brothers of Italy, Matteo Salvini's Lega Nord, and Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia, has a preferential chance of winning.

Meloni told Rainews24 that "we will talk about ministries and positions later, I think it is wrong at this stage. I worry about the fact that a victory for the center-right is taken for granted. I'm used to participating in battles before declaring victory," highlighting that only on September 25 will a winner be determined.

As for Salvini, he ruled out the idea of current Prime Minister Mario Draghi serving in a future national administration should the center-right alliance prevail in the parliamentary elections in September.

At an election rally in Bari, Salvini said, "We ask you to vote for Lega Nord, for the center-right forces. I do not see a role for Draghi or for other 'technicians' [politicians without party affiliation], with all due respect for Draghi."

Italy's new far-right thrives on anti-immigrant discourse

As part of Italy's new far-right direction in its campaign for the September 25 election, Giorgia Meloni, the Brothers of Italy leader, which has neo-fascist roots, and the League's Matteo Salvini have joined forces to demonstrate their "Italians First" nationalist agenda that vows to end mass migration into the country as a key aspect of their campaign.

The island of Lampedusa was Salvini's first destination on Sunday, which happens to be the landing point for tens of thousands of migrants each year from North Africa, where he stated that Lampedusa could not become "Europe's refugee camp," adding, "Only those with permission should enter Italy."

Meloni, on the other hand, explained that she differentiates between people fleeing conflict and persecution and those who are unusual economic migrants. Last month, however, she came under fire after she reposted a video of a woman being raped, allegedly by an asylum seeker in an unidentified Italian town, but the post was later removed for violating rules on social media.

Maurizio Ambrosini, a sociologist at Milan University, commented, "Unfortunately our political debate associates immigrants with landings... creating the idea of huge flows... while the actual number of immigrants has been stable for a decade in Italy," but according to a YouGov survey last December across Europe, 77% of the population say immigration levels are "too high" which is 10 points above the EU average.