"If Meloni Pursues Reactionary Positions, We Will Have to Mobilize All Our Powers"

[marmar]

from Der Spiegel:


"If Meloni Pursues Reactionary Positions, We Will Have to Mobilize All Our Powers"
After the election victory of Giorgia Meloni in Italy, the head of the Five Star Movement, Giuseppe Conte, is concerned that she will lead Italy to the right-wing fringe. In an interview, he talks about what lies ahead for his country.

Interview Conducted by Frank Hornig in Rome
17.10.2022, 17.40 Uhr

About Giuseppe Conte
Giuseppe Conte was born in Apulia on August 8, 1964. He is a lawyer and taught private law at the University of Florence before he became prime minister in Rome on June 1, 2018. He led two governing coalitions on behalf of the populist Five Star Movement, first with the right-wing populist Lega party led by Matteo Salvini, and then with the Social Democrats and the centrist party Italia Viva. His tenure was very much defined by the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. He resigned on January 26, 2021, after he lost his parliamentary majority. He is now party leader of the Five Star Movement.

....(snip)....

DER SPIEGEL: Mr. Conte, many Germans are having a hard time understanding Giorgia Meloni …

Conte: … a problem shared by many Italians.

DER SPIEGEL: Can you explain how the right-wing nationalist thinks? You had a fair amount of interaction with her when you were prime minister.

Conte: Italy was the first country in Europe to be struck by the pandemic. We had no instruction manual when we imposed the first lockdown. It was an epochal challenge, and for a great many people, it was a question of life or death. During that time, I didn’t experience Giorgia Meloni as a responsible opposition politician.

DER SPIEGEL: What did she do?

Conte: At crucial moments, she repeatedly positioned herself in opposition to the government in a cheap manner. When we wanted to shut everything down, she wanted to open it all up. And when we wanted to open the country up again, she wanted to close it down.

....(snip)....

DER SPIEGEL: What do you think will happen? Will the three assemble a relatively normal conservative government, or is Italy moving to the right-wing fringe?

Conte: If Meloni implements conservative policies, we will respond with a normal, resolute opposition strategy. But if she pursues reactionary positions and seeks an alliance with (Hungarian Prime Minister) Viktor Orbán, her friends in the Polish government, or the right-wing extremist Spanish party Vox, then we will have to mobilize all of our powers.

DER SPIEGEL: How do you mean?

Conte: I don’t want to see such developments, and I don’t want to speak them into existence. But just a few days ago, Meloni called Poland a model for Italy. And when a significant majority of the European Parliament recently declared that Hungary is no longer a real democracy, party allies of Meloni and Salvini took Orbán’s side. There can be no illiberal course for my country. If necessary, we will position my party as a bulwark against Meloni. Italy is a strong democracy. We must prevent it from leaving Europe’s political center. ..................(more)

https://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/former-italian-premier-giuseppe-conte-if-meloni-pursues-reactionary-positions-we-will-have-to-mobilize-all-our-powers-a-9dc81f4c-7a29-411c-9e71-bb8609e0f124