Analysis
Tajani and Salvini clash over neo-Nazism in Europe while Meloni stays silent
Austria’s Freedom Party represents everything the Italian premier wants to distance herself from, a dark mirror of a past to be forgotten. A very different message came from Salvini, sounding like he might have indulged in too much of the bubbly.
Giorgia Meloni's silence over the far-right's victory in the Austrian elections stands out even more than the clash between Antonio Tajani and Matteo Salvini. She is the leader of a party which has been close to Herbert Kickl’s FPO for a long time, as a number of past investigations have shown; and she is the prime minister of a NATO ally. While she wasn’t required to issue a statement, it was logical to expect one. But she hasn’t said anything, nor will she.
It’s a thorny issue: Kickl's party represents everything the Italian premier wants to distance herself from, a dark mirror of a past to be forgotten, of shadows to be chased away. Moreover, the People’s Party, now the main allies and quasi-protectors of the Italian underdog, have chosen the cordon sanitaire approach. It would not be appropriate for Meloni to break out the champagne for a party that the People’s Party have declared off limits.
Accordingly, Meloni has chosen not to comment. “It would not be appropriate on the part of a head of government,” was the justification from her office, glossing over the fact that the “head of government” had no hesitation to lavish compliments on Marine Le Pen in similar circumstances.
But the FdI had to say something, and Carlo Fidanza, the head of its MEPs, took up the job. He skillfully reframed the whole issue to put Giorgia in the best position: “The Freedom Party and People’s Party have gotten more than 55 percent of the vote. While they are rivals, they have already governed together and I hope they can try again. The alternative would be yet another alliance of the defeated: it would play into the hands of the left, and that usually doesn’t lead to good things.”
No triumphant toast, then, but an impassioned plea for the alliance between the People’s Party and the far-right that continues to be Meloni's strategic goal in Europe.
A very different message came from Salvini, sounding like he might have indulged in too much of the bubbly. This is no surprise. Kickl's party, while tainted by the shadow of neo-Nazism even more than Germany's AfD, is part of the Patriots, the European Parliament group that also features Orbán and Salvini. Unlike its German-speaking cousins, the FPO was not shown the door.
“Amazing result for our allies,” Salvini exulted. Especially since the Lega’s Austrian brethren will be in Pontida on Sunday for the annual festival which will see more far-right parties from Europe this year after the prosecution asked for a four-year sentence for the Lega leader.
Forza Italia leader Tajani went in the completely opposite direction, with particularly strong language: “Every regurgitation of neo-Nazism must be rejected. What is needed is a People’s Party-led government that would exclude the Freedom Party.” This is not only the exact opposite line to that of Salvini, as one could have easily predicted from before the results were announced. It is also a position in stark contrast to that of FdI, despite the fact that the Forza Italia leader fully shares the prime minister’s overall goal of an alliance between the EPP and the right.
But not all “right” parties are the same, and the EPP has decided to avoid any collaboration with “that” particular right, despite having chosen differently at several times in the past (to the point that Kickl himself has already been a minister). But it’s one thing to avail oneself of a minor ally, and quite another to deal with it at the head of government, not to mention the impact that this situation would inevitably have in neighboring Germany, where the clash between the EPP and the AfD is the main story.
It is obvious that the three parties of the Italian right have taken three completely different and contradictory positions; however, this will not create any problems in a coalition that has its strength precisely in its ability to contain not only divisions, but even open conflicts with remarkable elasticity. Nor will their unity be threatened by the ongoing internal tug-of-war, more pointedly on domestic policy, over the tax on banks' windfall profits that Tajani continues to block unyieldingly, and will probably prevail in the end. The real problem for the Italian premier is on the European chessboard.
Giorgia's ambition is to position herself as a link between the EPP and a right so strong that it would not condemn her to the thankless role of a mere accessory to the EPP. But as long as the bulk of the European right is considered unpresentable in Europe, and is doing little to shake off the stigma, that ambition is destined to remain a chimera.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/tajani-e-salvini-litigano-sulle-alleanze-in-europa-e-meloni-tace-2 on 2024-10-01