The EPP needs a big party in Italy. The choice is up to Meloni

Brussels. The European People’s Party is looking for a national party, possibly Italian, that can win about thirty seatsthe minimum necessary to maintain its role as the main group in the European Parliament and to preserve its own status most influential party within the European Union after 2024. In this announcement – ​​never published, but which summarizes the thought of the EPP leadership since Forza Italia has recorded single-digit electoral results – lie all the dilemmas that Giorgia Meloni must resolve before next year’s European elections. For arithmetical and political reasons, a majority between the EPP, the sovereign right (the European Conservatives and reformists) and anti-European (Identity and democracy) is excluded. For political and personal reasons, an entry of the League with Matteo Salvini as leader is unthinkable. But, in one way or another and under certain conditions, the EPP is thinking of opening its doors to the Brothers of Italy. Even more so after Silvio Berlusconi, with his ability to resurrect politically and electorally every time, is no more. “Forza Italia is our reference in Italy. But the process of disappearance has been underway for some time”, a source from the EPP explains to Foglio: “We cannot afford that a handful of people’s deputies arrive from two of the largest EU countries, France and Italy, instead of thirty”. A formal invitation or entry agreement is still a long way off. But in the end “it’s up to Meloni to decide where and what he wants to be in the EU in the future”, says the source of the EPP. The EPP presents itself as the dominant group in the European Parliament and its influence on the EU is undeniable.