The right-wing Italian politician Giorgia Meloni has accused the German government of an energy policy that is only geared towards national interests.

In a speech to the Italian trade association Confcommercio, she said that Germany did not like the proposed price cap for Russian gas because the country would lose its competitive advantage as a result.

Christian Schubert

Economic correspondent for Italy and Greece.

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Germany is "richer than the rest" and wants to take advantage of this by buying gas at a higher price, said Meloni, who is the poll's favorite for the September 25 general election and will soon succeed Prime Minister Mario Draghi could.

"A price cap does not suit the Germans, because if everyone can stock up on the same level, Germany loses its competitive advantage," she said.

The argument makes little sense, because even today everyone stocks up at the same price level that the market price dictates.

Being richer than the others is theoretically an advantage even at this higher level.

But facts and myths often lie side by side in the Italian election campaign.

In reality, Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) was open to the gas price cap at the most recent European summit.

But not only Hungary but also Austria spoke out against it.

Energy ministers called on the Commission to continue examining these and other market interventions.

Germany was initially against the price cap, but the situation has changed.

"We shouldn't take the last step before the first," said Chancellor Scholz on Friday after a meeting with EU Council President Charles Michel.

You first have to see how the situation in the other EU countries is.

The gas storage facilities are not as well filled in all countries as in Germany.

The Chancellor was referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin's threat to stop deliveries to Europe altogether in the event of a European price cap.

The Netherlands are also criticized

Irrespective of these realities, however, the MEP from Meloni's Fratelli d'Italia party, Nicola Procaccini, also directed accusations at Berlin's address: Germany and the Netherlands are the "only" countries blocking the price cap for Russian gas.

On his party's website, he criticized the "brutal sovereignty of Amsterdam and Berlin".

A coalition of “socialist” parties is preventing the price cap.

"In the meantime, Putin thanks heartily," says Procaccini.

Meloni told the Confcommercio association that the Netherlands wants to prevent the price cap because the European electricity exchange is in Amsterdam, which would suffer particularly from the interventions.

Europe is not a place of solidarity

Meloni, who is currently leading in polls for the presidential election, also used her accusations against Germany and the Netherlands in Rome for a fundamental criticism of Europe.

Europe is not a place of solidarity, but "a place where everyone defends their national interests".

Italy must therefore do this more than in the past.

To calm things down, she immediately added that she "did not want to leave Europe or distance herself from Europe".

In 2019, Meloni described leaving the euro as an option.

In 2015, she openly challenged him.

There is no more talk of that today.