The far-right party leads the Italian election, causing a sensation in the European crisis to "make it worse"?

The far-right party leads the Italian election and makes a sensation in Europe!

US media: A taboo may be about to be broken!

　　[Global Times special correspondent in Italy and Canada Xie Yahongtao short room Chen Kangliu Yupeng] Will far-right politicians become the leaders of a founding country of the European Union and the third largest economy in the euro zone for the first time?

On September 25, local time, voting for the new Italian parliamentary election began at 7:00 a.m. that day. This election attracted the attention of the world, especially Europe.

According to the latest polls, Meloni, leader of the Brotherhood of Italy, is likely to become the first far-right leader of a major European power after World War II.

The French "Le Monde" said that the European Union has been deeply involved in war and multiple crises. We have a war, an energy crisis, a global food crisis, and a looming economic crisis. A far-right politician in charge of the Italian government will make this huge Crisis "worse".

European Commission President von der Leyen even made public threats ahead of Italian elections.

With Europe mired in crisis, the far right has grown stronger in European elections.

Marine Le Pen, leader of the French far-right party "National League", fell short in April's presidential election, but had a huge impact on President Macron; in the recent Swedish election, the right-wing alliance including far-right parties Defeat the left-wing camp by a narrow margin, and Sweden has the first government in history to rely on the far-right party to form a government.

Will the Italian Brotherhood overthrow the first domino of Europe's far-right parties?

The Washington Post said: "A taboo in Europe may be about to be broken."

'Far-right parties profit from crisis'

　　Italian parliamentary elections start at 7 am local time and will last until 11 pm.

With more than 50 million eligible voters nationwide, the winning party will be able to elect the prime minister.

Reuters said on the 25th that according to the latest opinion polls, the support rate of the center-right coalition composed of the far-right Brothers Party, the Alliance Party and the right-wing party Forza is about 48%, much higher than the support rate of the center-left coalition led by the Democratic Party of 29%. .

Among them, the fraternal party led by Meloni has a support rate of 25%, the highest among the center-right coalition, while the support rate of the fraternal party in 2018 was only 4%.

　　For this election, many voters appeared positive.

Even before polling stations opened at 7 a.m., many voters began lining up outside polling stations, Agence France-Presse said.

Letta, the leader of the center-left Democratic Party, went to the polling station early that morning to vote.

The leader of the Fraternal Party, Melloni, said that she decided to go to the polls that night to avoid inconvenience to voters because she was expected to attract a large number of reporters when she went to the polls.

Previously, she said confidently: "The left is babbling about that there will be concerns internationally, they say 'the EU will not allow a far-right government to come to power'. The left says everyone is afraid, but the only thing that is afraid is them, because of their power It's coming to an end," she said. "We're going to have a strong Italy. We're the real majority."

　　The reporter of the Global Times in Italy went to a polling station in Rome at noon on the 25th to interview.

The reporter saw that there were police officers at the scene to maintain order, and they were also equipped with masks and other anti-epidemic supplies.

The reporter communicated with an old woman who walked out of the polling station. She said that she voted for one of the parties of the center-right alliance, but refused to disclose which party.

Regarding her choice, the old lady said that because of the poor economic situation, she hopes to have new changes.

　　Like the rest of Europe, Italians are most concerned about rising inflation and energy bills these days.

This exacerbates the economic woes that people are already experiencing due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to a report released by the Federation of Italian Handicrafts on the 25th, inflation and soaring energy prices will push as many as 9 million Italians into poverty, accounting for about 1/6 of the total population.

　　"The far-right parties profited from the crisis," Destacio, the owner of a coffee shop in Naples, was quoted by the BBC as saying on the 25th. "Italian people feel abandoned." Destacio said: "The government Not helping us enough. My energy bills have quadrupled in the last two months. I had to turn off most of my coffee machines. A lot of businesses went bankrupt. That's why people are looking for change." Law The news agency quoted Italian analyst Picari as saying that most voters are expected to choose Meloni, "the only leader that the Italians have not tried."

'This election is like a Brexit vote'

　　Reuters said that the European Union and European countries are nervously watching the Italian election.

Europe is concerned that Italy's domestic and foreign policies will be more unpredictable after the far-right party comes to power.

In Italy, left-wing parties are more pro-European, and far-right parties are generally Eurosceptic.

The Brotherhood also opposes immigration, homosexuality and LGBT, etc., which is incompatible with EU policy.

In foreign policy, although Meloni expressed support for a unified Western position on Ukraine after the Russian-Ukrainian conflict broke out, her ally and Coalition leader Salvini recently blamed Western sanctions for Italy's energy crisis Russia's side effects, and Forza leader Berlusconi tried to defend Putin two days before the election, claiming that "Putin was just trying to replace Ukrainian President Zelensky with a decent man and then withdraw within a week" .

The claim drew the ire of the European Union.

The EU is concerned that a new Italian government will hinder European unity on Ukraine.

　　According to CNBC in the United States, the Italian Brotherhood was only established in 2012, and its roots can be traced back to the 20th-century "new fascist movement" that emerged in Italy after the victory of World War II.

The party is often described as a "neo-fascist" or "post-fascist" party, with a platform that is distinctly populist and anti-immigrant, but Meloni has tried to distance herself from fascism, repeatedly claiming the "Italian Brotherhood" There are no nostalgic fascists, racists or anti-Semites in our DNA.”

　　Regarding the possibility of the fraternal party winning the election, Italian Democratic Party leader Letta said: "I will not hand over this country to Meloni, which is tantamount to separating Italy from the rest of Europe. I see this election as a Just like the Brexit vote. The Democratic Party will completely and completely prevent Meloni from being elected as prime minister." Italian Defense Minister Lorenzo also said in an interview with the Italian "News": "When the far-right party has the power to govern, Italy There is a risk of being isolated in Europe."

　　European Commission President Von der Leyen said on the 22nd whether the EU was "concerned" about the possible victory of the Italian fraternal party in parliamentary elections: "If things go in a difficult direction - as I mentioned Hungary and Poland. , we have the means (to respond).” Reuters said Von der Leyen’s words were an “unabashed threat”, warning that Italy would face serious consequences if it deviates from democratic principles.

Von der Leyen's words also sparked outrage in Italy.

Italian League leader Salvini accused von der Leyen of "shameful arrogance".

　　However, the British "Guardian" believes that even if the fraternal party wins the election, Meloni will not be too far from the EU after taking office.

Under the leadership of outgoing Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Italy has received the lion's share of the EU's 750 billion-euro recovery plan: nearly 200 billion euros in EU funds over the next six years.

In response, Meloni said a few days ago that he hoped to "comply with European regulations" and hit back at "ridiculous claims" that the fraternal party's rise to power would jeopardize Italy's access to EU recovery funds.

"It's impossible for Meloni to screw things up," said Codognino, a former finance secretary at Italy's finance ministry.

　'A taboo may be about to be broken'

　　"If the Italian far-right party really wins the election, will this mean that European politics will cross the turning point to the right?" British Sky TV said on the 25th that in Europe, the French far-right party "National League" has risen. The rise of the far-right parties VOX and Chega in Spain and Portugal, and the recent narrow election victory of the Swedish right-wing coalition, including the far-right party, are disturbing.

"A taboo in Europe may be about to be broken," the Washington Post said.

　　For more than half a century after Nazis and fascism ravaged Europe and sparked World War II, far-right parties in Europe have been marginalized, Bloomberg said.

Even conservative (aka right-wing) European politicians would draw a line from the far right, but that line has now been broken.

　　However, European far-right political parties believe that only their own ideas can protect the interests of European countries, rather than left-wing political parties under the guise of "democracy" to bring European countries into crisis.

Marine Le Pen, leader of the French far-right party "National League", said recently when talking about the "rise" of European far-right parties: "The EU is no longer a union, but has become like imperialism." She said, The Russian-Ukrainian crisis is pounding the European continent, but the EU has stubbornly adopted a "dangerously bellicose stance", putting itself in a futile predicament.

Ultimately, "the EU will see its aspirations for prosperity and peace sink in its own economic, energy and geopolitical mistakes".

The British "Guardian" quoted scholars as worrying that the rise of populist far-right forces will destabilize Europe.

The report said that the EU "is easy to deal with one person, but when there are two or three far-right leaders in the EU, it becomes much more troublesome".