Italy PM Meloni says she’ll stand in EU elections, in apparent move to boost far right
- Giorgia Meloni made her announcement at a rally for her far-right Brothers of Italy party, which has neo-Fascist roots
- However, EU rules require that any winner already holding a ministerial position must immediately resign from the EU assembly
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Sunday she would stand in June’s European Parliament elections, a move apparently calculated to boost her far-right party, although she would be forced to resign immediately.
Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, which has neo-Fascist roots, came top in Italy’s 2022 general election with 26 per cent of the vote.
It is polling at similar levels ahead of the European elections, from June 6-9.
With Meloni heading the list of candidates, Brothers of Italy could exploit its national popularity at the EU level, even though EU rules require that any winner already holding a ministerial position must immediately resign from the EU assembly.
“We want to do in Europe exactly what we did in Italy on September 25, 2022 – creating a majority that brings together the forces of the right to finally send the left into opposition, even in Europe!” Meloni told a party event in the Adriatic city of Pescara.
In a fiery, sweeping speech touching briefly on issues from surrogacy and Ramadan to artificial meat, Meloni extolled her coalition government’s one-and-a-half years in power and what she said were its efforts to combat illegal immigration, protect families and defend Christian values.