By UME/Boulevard Voltaire
According to the Lega chairman, the world could be much worse after the fall of the wall, but the historical situation that Europe is currently experiencing could also be seen as an opportunity. The creation of a group that brings together the 130 right-wing MEPs in the European Parliament would make it possible to forge a real alternative numerically to the dominant left-wing forces that the EPP has so far regularly joined depending on their respective electoral interests. “A parliamentary group that respects every nationality, that respects the Europe of the peoples […], that brings together all those who no longer want to be subordinates to the left.”
The motion is wise: the creation of a grand coalition of the right in the European Parliament, modeled on what exists in Italy, would encourage clarification of ideas and positions within the EPP. That is exactly what is currently also the case in France.
And by taking this initiative, Matteo Salvini is also trying to regain control of Giorgia Meloni, leader of the European Conservatives and leader of the Fratelli d’Italia party, which is on the rise in Italy. With joining this grand coalition – from which the parties would still not disappear – the fiery Roman would undoubtedly lose dominance. In Italy, its positioning as the only opposition party to the Draghi government is proving to be a successful strategy for the time being.
It is therefore not surprising that the Fratelli d’Italia recall that the approach to the right-wing galaxy of the European Parliament “is not based on mathematical formulas, but with a lot of dialogue and a lot of politics.”
On the part of the EPP, the reaction was not long in coming: Antonio Tajani, Vice President of the EPP, but also Vice President of Forza Italia, Silvio Berlusconi’s party allied with the League, rejected an alliance between EPP and ID on the grounds that “The EPP must preserve its identity” and cannot ally itself with a party in which “anti-Europeans” like AfD and Marine Le Pen sit.
Salvini’s proposal, which was accompanied by a somewhat cheeky remark – “I hope no one feels jealousy, envy or the spirit of isolation, because it is the future of Europe that is at stake” – seems cool for the time being from his Italian allies to be included.
So a European lightning bolt that flops? Salvini probably expected more reluctance from his compatriots at the Fratelli d’Italia and the Forza Italia.
But it’s not all evening yet.
While waiting for a political thaw, Salvini went to Fatima for two hours: “Because Europe is Christian, Portugal is Christian, Italy is Christian and there will never be room for Islamic fanaticism. I have dedicated the health, the future and the serenity of my people, the Italians, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. “