Berlusconi Meloni
Lapresse
Centre-right: Meloni moves towards the center and Berlusconi to the right. While Salvini…
A strange phenomenon is taking place these days. Meloni is moving to the center while Berlusconi is moving to the right and Salvini looks at the two in amazement. The reasons are known: in order to be able to govern peacefully, the prime minister must show a reliable, “Atlantic” and completely pro-Western profile. And so it has long since begun the maneuvers to approach the EPP, the European People’s Party, which is the most represented in Strasbourg, also in view of the 2024 Europeans. The catalyst of this natural tendency to curb its extremism – which has however win the elections- is of course the war in Ukraine.
But the center-right is pro-Russian naturaliter, it always has been and still is in 2/3 of its components. In fact, Matteo Salvini until recently went to Red Square with a T-shirt with Putin’s image. Instead the other partner, namely Silvio Berlusconi, is a close friend of Putin and therefore of Russia.
Of course, for the Italian Prime Minister it must be quite an undertaking to govern in this strange condition. After all, Meloni’s most strenuous allies are the whole left and the liberals, precisely those who in his autobiography “I am Giorgia” (Rizzoli, first edition May 2021) defines his number one enemies, even at an international level. We must always resist the temptation – very human for heaven’s sake, but dangerous – to release autobiographies when you are still “young” as is the leader of the Brothers of Italy. In any case, now you have to demonstrate that you are completely pro-Atlantic in order not to have trouble with your past, which would certainly be brought back to the surface by Washington and Brussels, as soon as you dared to raise your head again.
And it is of some interest to note how this issue of Atlanticism was present and divisive even at the time of the MSI of Giorgio Almirante and Pino Rauti.
Government, Brothers of Italy is close to 30%. Lega and Forza Italia…
But let’s go back to the governing coalition. The internal balance of power is merciless with the Brothers of Italy at 29.6%, the League at 9%, Forza Italia at 7.7% and the Third Pole at 8.1% (Euromedia Research survey, of 21 February last) . Furthermore, if Salvini and Berlusconi tried to “rebel”, Meloni would immediately open up to the Third Pole and to other “managers”, with Renzi and Calenda very eager to be able to “collaborate” with the majority because the third bakeries sell bread at very high cost in times of famine…
So the games are played, for now, all within the center – right.
What is not understood is that the orphan electorate, let’s call it that, of Meloni is precisely what once belonged to Salvini and the “nationalized” League, instead it is Berlusconi who is moving in that direction and that is more and more to the right.
Remember that Salvini is the sovereign, anti-Western and pro-Russian electorate that Meloni paraded from him while Berlusconi, a European Christian Democrat, has always been a moderate, at least on paper.
In the end, Salvini risks being left with the classic match in hand because Forza Italia is also eroding the old consensus.
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