Europe 1 with AFP 7:29 p.m., October 25, 2022

During her general policy speech to the deputies, the new Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday firmly anchored Italy at the heart of the EU and NATO while rejecting any "proximity" with fascism.

Italy is "fully part of Europe and the Western world", she said.

New Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday firmly anchored Italy at the heart of the EU and NATO while rejecting any "proximity" to fascism, a month to the day after the historic victory of her extreme party. right Fratelli d'Italia in the elections and the concern it has caused.

Italy is "fully part of Europe and the Western world", she forcefully affirmed on Tuesday during her general policy speech to the deputies.

>> READ ALSO

- Italy: the burning issues that Giorgia Meloni will have to manage as soon as she takes office

"I have never had any sympathy or closeness to anti-democratic regimes. For any regime, including fascism," stressed the one who was an admirer of Mussolini in her youth, even if in August she had already assured that the right had "relegated fascism to history".

Italy will remain "a reliable partner of NATO"

The first woman to lead a government in the history of Italy also promised that the country would remain "a reliable partner of NATO in support of Ukraine which opposes Russian aggression".

These statements are clearly aimed at reassuring Brussels and Rome's partners, as Giorgia Meloni has pro-Russian partners in her coalition, including League leader Matteo Salvini and Forza Italia leader Silvio Berlusconi, a personal friend of Vladimir Putin.

"Those who think that it is possible to exchange our tranquility for the freedom of Ukraine are mistaken," she assured from the tribune of the hemicycle.

"Caving in to Putin's energy blackmail wouldn't solve the problem, it would make it worse, paving the way for further claims and blackmail and future energy (price) increases even bigger than what we have known in recent months”, she judged.

Making the EU community machine work better

With regard to the European Union, she explained that the Italian approach was not to “hinder and sabotage European integration” but to make the Community machine work better.

"Italy will respect the" European rules, she also assured, even if Rome also wants "to help change those that do not work".

The EU is "a common house to face the challenges that member states can hardly face alone", she added, judging that the EU has not done enough in this area in the past.

>> READ ALSO

- In Rome, Macron meets Meloni and promises to work with "ambition" and "vigilance"

“Whoever wonders” about the shortcomings of the EU “is not an enemy or a heretic but someone who wants to contribute to a more effective European integration to face the great challenges that await it”, said Ms. Meloni, who took office on Sunday.

For Lorenzo Codogno, former chief economist of the Italian Treasury and visiting professor at the London School of Economics, these words, which affirm respect for democratic institutions and international alliances, show that "we are moving more towards a classic conservative government and not towards a regime with fascist tendencies".

A vote of confidence scheduled for Tuesday evening

This speech will be followed by a vote of confidence, Tuesday evening in the Chamber of Deputies then Wednesday in the Senate.

Giorgia Meloni is sure to win since her coalition has an absolute majority in both chambers.

While inflation is raging, she undertook, but without going into details, to "strengthen support measures for households and businesses, both for energy bills and for fuel".

Former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, leader of the 5 Star Movement (ex-antisystem, opposition) castigated a speech where "citizens have not heard a single word about solutions to their exorbitant bills or the energy crisis" .

Inflation increased by 8.9% year on year in September and Italy was particularly affected by the energy crisis due to its dependence on Russian gas imports.

The peninsula is expected to enter recession in 2023 as its debt reaches 150% of GDP, the highest ratio in the euro zone after Greece.

Rounds of applause

“The solution to reducing the debt is not blind austerity (…) but sustainable and structural economic growth,” said the Prime Minister, whose speech was regularly interrupted by rounds of applause.

At the same time, she wants to "reduce the tax burden on companies and households", while "the excessive weight of taxation is one of the main obstacles to job creation and the competitiveness of our companies on international markets. ".

>> READ ALSO

- Italy: the government of Giorgia Meloni does not worry the Italians

Regarding the windfall of almost 200 billion euros in grants and loans granted by the EU as part of its post-pandemic recovery fund, she pledged to spend them “at best by negotiating with the European Commission the necessary adjustments (...) in the light above all of the rise in commodity prices and the energy crisis".

On illegal immigration, a battle horse of the far right, she affirmed her government's desire to "stop illegal departures (from Africa, editor's note) and put an end to human trafficking" by Mediterranean.