“They saw us coming but were unable to stop us.” Giorgia Meloni he ends his brief speech at the Parc des Princes with a jab at Elly Schlein. Secretary Pd shortly before, in the Dem headquarters, he had claimed to lead "the party that is growing the most compared to the Politicians". The distant confrontation between the two leaders - of the majority and the opposition - was renewed on the night of result of the European Championships, when the data are not yet "in stone" but in any case now so defined as to crystallize the roles of the two antagonists. In the meantime, still in the middle of the night, almost all the other political leaders also appear for the ritual hot discussions.
Antonio Tajani, then, underlines that the result of the European elections "strengthens the center-right government" and confirms that "we are ready to collaborate with our allies". “I'm happy – he confides – that Forza Italy gave this gift to Silvio Berlusconi. We dedicate this result to him." Matteo Salvini, the last to appear before journalists on the long election night, refers to today, when there will be real data, and in the meantime observes that "if we are even one point zero above the Policies, there is satisfaction". Thanks also to the community of Alloy. Because "it's been a year since everyone thought we were dead", he notes as Tajani had also said shortly before, but Salvini doesn't spare the jab at Umberto Bossy and talks about "oddities like the former party secretary who on election day says he votes for another party...". Another register is that of Giuseppe Conte which notes "an undoubtedly disappointing result". “We could certainly have done better,” notes the M5S leader which anticipates “we will carry out an internal reflection to try to delve deeper into the reasons for this result”. In the meantime, he reiterates, "the dialogue with the progressive forces does not depend on an electoral appointment and in any case will be increasingly intense, as we have to take on the responsibility of offering an alternative to this government". End of the long night. We start again in the morning, with the real numbers. The ones they will also reason about Matteo Renzi e Carlo Calenda.
Meloni: “They saw us coming but were unable to stop us”
Italy presents itself at the G7 "with the strongest government of all", because a message has arrived from the Italians: "Move forward, if possible with greater determination". On the notes of Rino Gaetano (the sky gets always more blue it is now a song-talisman together with the song Little by little, omnipresent in FdI playlists), Giorgia Meloni shows up at two o'clock sharp at the Hotel Parco dei Principi, home to the headquarters of Brothers of Italy, to toast the result of the European Championships, after having followed the counting from home, together with the sister Arianna. The outcome of the vote crowned his party with almost 29% of the votes, improving the 'score' of the 2022 policies. For the prime minister, this night is even "more beautiful" than that of two years ago, she tells the audience of journalists and parliamentarians. For Meloni, the vote of 8 and 9 June has an "enormous" value because "in these almost two years we have made difficult choices at a time in which there was no money to throw away for an electoral campaign. There was a need to tell the truth and do what was right for Italy, not for the party."
Meloni says she is "proud" of the result obtained by her political force, but also expresses satisfaction for the performance of her allies Forza Italia and Lega, which the prime minister thanks: "I am proud of the fact that the majority that governs this nation has managed to grow together ”. The outcome of the vote strengthens her executive position in Europe, in an election that she saw the governments of France and Germany emerge weakened from the polls in the face of an advance of the right. And Meloni's gaze is projected towards the next, imminent international events: “I am proud that this nation is presenting itself at the G7, in Europe, with the strongest government of all. This is something that didn't happen in the past, it happens today. It is a satisfaction and also a great responsibility. We must be aware of this."
For the tenant of Palazzo Chigi, the European elections are reshaping the Italian political geography, emphasizing the dichotomy between centre-right and centre-left, or rather the comparison between her and the challenger that Meloni herself has 'chosen' in this electoral campaign, the dem secretary Schlein: “It seems to me that the Italian system is becoming bipolar again – observes Meloni again – this is good news because in a bipolar system there are distinct and opposing visions of the world that are compared and on which citizens are asked which side to take. Today the citizens told us that they are on our side and we must be able to grasp the meaning of that message." And the gloss of Meloni's speech is dedicated precisely to the dem leader, who after the national anthem takes the microphone again to quote, ironically, the phrase uttered by Schlein after the victory in the Democratic primaries: "Anyway, in our case, they saw us coming but were unable to stop us...".
The challenge for Meloni's party is the one that will lead to the construction of the next European majority and the birth of the future EU commission. “The objective is to put the left outside the majority” in Europe, thus replicating the Italian centre-right model also in the EU, the line reiterated by John Donzelli, organization manager of FdI. They do not go unnoticed in the large hall of the Hotel where the general staff of the Brothers of Italy is gathered - present, among others, government representatives such as Francesco Lollobrigida, Orazio Schillaci e Maurice Leo, national parliamentarians and MEPs, such as Nicholas Procaccini – the exploit of Marine Le Pen in France andAfd in Germany. Procaccini, who is co-president of the European Conservatives and Reformists group, speaks of an "earthquake" in France and a clear "shift to the right" also in Germany, with the governments of Macron e Scholz “in crisis”.
The question that repeatedly bounces back to the FdI committee is whether the outcome of the vote (with Forza Italia overtaking Salvini's League) could have repercussions on the government. The answer, in unison, is no: for the government "I don't think the situation will change" "because the government is based on the September 2022 numbers", the opinion of Lucio Malan, president of the FdI senators. The center-right coalition “is all growing. The centre-right as a whole – says Donzelli – takes a higher percentage than in the last political elections. We don't start making these arguments because we are interested in the growth of the entire center-right."
Schlein: “The distance from FdI is getting shorter”
Red jacket and voice that betrays emotion. Elly Schein he shows up just before 2 in the press room of the Nazarene. She arrives greeted by the applause of the managers Pd, next to her Stefano Bonaccini, the group leaders of the House and Senate, the members of the secretariat. “It's an extraordinary result”, begins the secretary while the latest projections give the Democratic Party at 24,5%. Over 5 points above the result of the 2022 policies, above the 22,8 of Nicola Zingaretti in the last European Championships of 2019 when still Matteo Renzi e Carlo Calenda they were part of the Democratic Party.
The Democratic Party is growing and FdI is also growing in a polarization, despite the lack of TV comparison, which leaves the latter behind compared to the two leaders Giorgia Meloni and Elly Schlein. But if Meloni has a coalition, Schlein must build it and this "responsibility" is already being looked at from this evening by the secretary of the Democratic Party which, with the thud of the 5 Stars, is clearly the first party in the opposition field.
Schlein opens his statement with a thank you to the voters: “A big thank you to all the people who gave us their trust, to those who gave it back to us, to those who voted for us for the first time. If the projections are confirmed – he underlines – it is an extraordinary result for us, we are the party that grows the most in politics, the distance from FdI is shortening”.
Renzi: “It went badly, absurd breakdown of the Third Pole”
“Nothing, it went badly. Unfortunately the list United States of Europe it remained out of the European Parliament for a very short time. I'm very sorry and I would like to hug the volunteers who worked hard for this idea: you were wonderful. The gratuitousness of your service expands the heart. I would like to hug one by one the thousands of people who wrote my name on the ballot: I am truly honored to still represent the hope of so many people even if I would have preferred a few more votes on the list". She writes it on social media, Matteo Renzi.
“I am grateful to Emma Bonino and to all the political leaders who believed in it. But politics is a great school of life even when you don't win. And so I can't be sad, dear friends. Because I am very convinced that it was right to make this proposal, at this moment: today's crazy world needs the United States of Europe and it was nice to affirm the reasons for a dream that goes against the grain. We fought, we expressed ideas we believe in, we got involved. We didn't have a quorum, what a shame. But today we will not stop fighting for this idea of Europe, the only one in which Italy can play a leading role. We will find ways to insist on the cultural and values battle for a different Europe", assures the leader of Italia viva.
“It weighs on the Italian result the absurd rupture of the Third Pole: we could have had seven reformist MEPs together. And instead they are zero. How crazy. But the citizens have chosen and the citizens are always right: I wish the elected officials to honor their commitment in Strasbourg by giving them the most sincere compliments. We, from the Italian Parliament and from our roles of responsibility, will continue to do our part with the smile of those who know that it is better to risk and lose an election than to scrape by and lose a challenge. That's how we are - we men in the arena, he would have said Roosevelt – and we will never change, for anything in the world. Long live the United States of Europe! Good night, dear friends”, concludes Renzi.
