Because the margins of negotiation in Europe are reduced – Corriere.it

It is difficult to escape the feeling that what is happening in Brussels is conditioned by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And this makes each decision interim, destined for subsequent checks and adjustments. The beginning of the thaw, or perhaps just the end of the frost between the Italian premier Giorgia Meloni and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who met yesterday after months of poisons, a good sign. But it must be placed in a framework that limits everyone’s behavior and room for manoeuvre.

The insistence with which both Meloni and the head of the League, Matthew Salvini, deny any contrast on foreign policy, confirm it. No one can leave a pre-established fence. And for the rest, we proceed almost by sight. so on migration policy, on which our country receives reassurances but not guarantees that the attitude of other nations will change. It applies to the ecological transition, which sees Italy’s attempt to carve out itself spaces of autonomy with respect to European rules, and for the Recovery plan.

Yesterday it was discussed again by the Minister for European Affairs, Raffaele Fitto, with the Commissioner for Economic Affairs in Brussels, Paul Gentiloni. Delays are expected while the third loan has to arrive. And the new secretary of the Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, present in the Belgian capital to meet the socialist leaders, expresses concern. But no one can pull the rope that much. The League that has defected with his ministers Meloni’s speech in Parliament on Ukraine, now minimizes.

The premier herself resizes the episode. On the other hand, it is objective that the right-wing coalition in the end voted together, unlike the oppositions which were divided. It could not have been otherwise, because, I distinguish aside, the executive was convinced or forced to support the initiatives of the EU and NATO against Russian military aggression. And as far as Salvini e Silvio Berlusconi probably have their hearts beating with solidarity not only towards Kiev but also towards Moscow, they know they have to keep these impulses at bay.

They can send signals such as certain lexical smudges by the Northern League leader in the Senate, Maximilian Romeo; or poke Meloni’s Atlanticist loyalty. But then they vote with the government. They know that they would otherwise be on the same side of the Five Star Movement as Joseph Conte and of Beppe Grillo: proponents of a pacifism that ends up unbalancing part of the opposition towards Putin and China. therefore, it is more convenient to focus on Italian issues. And prepare the long electoral campaign that will lead to European 2024.