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The European Commission on Monday declined to comment on the results of Italy’s legislative elections, won by the nationalist Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, saying it only hopes to have “constructive cooperation with the new Italian authorities.”
At the daily press conference of the European Commission in Brussels, the main spokesman for the community executive, Eric Mamer, began by recalling the institution’s principle of “never commenting on the results of national elections” and stressed that, after the elections of the Sunday, it is now expected “the formation of a government, according to the constitutional procedures of Italy”.
Asked if the European Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen is prepared to work with a government led by the leader of a party considered to be on the extreme right, the spokesperson replied that “The Commission works with the governments that come out of the polls in the countries of the European Union, and this case will be no different”.
“We hope to have a constructive cooperation with the new Italian authorities,” he said then.
Challenged to comment on the fact that about a third of Italians voted for political forces considered anti-European, Eric Mamer said that It is not up to the European Commission to “comment on the electoral campaign” or “try to explain the reasons that led Italians to vote as they did.”
Even so, he pointed out that there were a whole series of issues that marked these elections and commented that “seeing these elections as a kind of judgment on Europe seems an extreme simplification”.
The president of the Brothers of Italy party, Giorgia Meloni, proclaimed victory last night in Sunday’s legislative elections in Italy, claiming the leadership of the next government.
In his first speech after Sunday’s vote, Meloni assured that the party will govern “for everyone” and “so that Italians feel proud to be Italians.”
Italians have sent a clear message of support for a right-wing government led” by the FdI, Meloni, who is expected to become Italy’s first female executive, told media in the capital Rome.
According to partial results, the right-wing and far-right coalition – led by the FdI and which also includes Matteo Salvini’s League and Silvio Berlusconi’s conservative Forza Italia party – obtained between 43% of the votes in the legislative.
The centre-left bloc, led by Enrico Letta’s Democratic Party, is expected to get 26% of the vote.
The Brothers of Italy party, led by Giorgia Meloni, was founded in 2012 and has its roots in the Italian Social Movement (MSI), founded by followers of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.
Source: Observadora
