The offensive of the persuasion of Gianni Lettaby Anthony Tajani and of the same family as Silvio Berlusconi seems to have convinced the leader of Forza Italy to lay down their arms and seek a clarifying agreement with the premier in pectore, Giorgia Melons, defeating hawks who preach the breakdown of traditional centre-right alliances.
THE MELONI-BERLUSCONI MEETING AT THE FDI HEADQUARTERS HAS A HIGHLY SYMBOLIC VALUE AND PRELUDES THE SURRENDER OF THE LEADER OF FORZA ITALIA
The Berlusconi-Meloni meeting in the Via della Scrofa headquarters, a stone's throw from the Senate, has a highly symbolic meaning, barring twists and turns, and essentially means two things: 1) Berlusconi acknowledges that the September 25 elections have radically changed the balance in the center-right and that, after thirty years, the dominus is no longer him but Giorgia Meloni, fresh from an indisputable electoral success; 2) the meeting seems to herald a general reconciliation after last week's breakup and Berlusconi's surrender and to prepare the foundations for the formation of a government center-right led by Meloni who should receive the assignment this week from the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella.
Of course, a meeting will not be enough to dispel all the clouds that have gathered over the center-right and it will be necessary to understand how far Meloni will go in the offer of ministerial positions to Forza Italia, but - barring surprises - the die seems cast.
BIDEN: ITALY'S SHIFT TO THE RIGHT RISKS TO DIVIDE NATO AND FAVOR PUTIN
A reconciliation between Meloni and Berlusconi facilitates the birth of the new government but does not erase the fact that the center-right road remains uphill. The election of two clearly right-wing, not centre-right, Speakers of the Chambers, and one even pro-Put raised the antennas in Western chancelleries and above all in America, where President Joe Biden said in no uncertain terms that the shift to the right of some NATO countries - such as Italy, Spain and Hungary - risks making the game of Russia. “Putin – he argued Biden – wanted to divide NATO. Look what happened on the eastern flank of the Alliance. Poland resists, but Hungary, Spain and Italy? What do you tell me?”.
Luckily at the Quirinale there is a President of sure Atlanticist and pro-European faith like Sergio Mattarella, who will supervise the composition and course of the new government, but the sky remains full of clouds both in relation to Italy's international position and to the worsening of the country's economic and energy situation which risks paving the way for strong social tensions. We'll see in the next few days.
