Minister Tajani, today you are launching Forza Italia’s electoral campaign in Rome, of which you are leader and head of the list in 4 out of 5 constituencies. Then, will you participate – like Meloni and Schlein between the two of them – in some TV face-to-face meetings?
«The duel between Meloni and Schlein must be done, but taking into account the level playing field. There are no Serie A leaders and Serie B leaders. And there is a plural competition: in the European elections we vote with the proportional system. Since each party competes with all the others, television space must be guaranteed in equal parts. Otherwise an imbalance will be created that goes against the law.”
Who would you like to challenge?
«I think it would be better to do it the American way. With all the leaders on stage, this respects the level playing field and the spirit of the electoral system. In this round of voting there is no centre-right versus centre-left, but a different race pattern: not between two sides but between many parties.”
Speaking of parties: there is the feeling that at the beginning of the electoral campaign the competitive divisions between the various leaders are accentuating. By doing so, don’t you risk bringing tensions beyond the electoral campaign, weakening the stability of the government?
«I don’t see this danger. If you allude to the issue of the superbonus, I point out that it is simply a question of different sensitivities on an amendment. I can’t find any cracks, much less cracks that could weaken the stability of the government.”
However, there is a conflict between her and Giorgetti regarding the super bonus.
«But why always stress words and dramatize situations that are normal in politics? The solution will be found, and we are working to find it. Forza Italia supports the principle that in our legal civilization there is no possibility of making retroactive rules. It is a basic principle of Roman law. A tax increase cannot be applied to those who have benefited from the superbonus. The rules can be changed, but not retroactively. If retroactivity is chosen, citizens, entrepreneurs and foreign investors will lose faith in the institutions. We need legal certainty, otherwise we are no longer credible.”
The tension is palpable though, don’t you think?
«The important thing is to agree on the general philosophy and we all agree on this: that is, that public spending must be contained and that the super bonus has caused damage. We just want to be clear about retroactivity. We will talk about it with businesses and banks before making any decisions.”
Also divided on the sugar tax?
«In the Chamber, on 29 December 2023 we voted, with the government’s positive opinion, on an agenda which effectively proposes a postponement of the sugar tax. I don’t understand why they don’t want to respect this commitment. We at Forza Italia always think the same way: we are against the imposition of new taxes, because this way the economy will not grow.”
This electoral campaign is highlighting that Forza Italia and Lega are traveling on two very different tracks.
«Dialectics strengthens the stability of the government».
Strong parties are needed to guarantee an effective government. Don’t you therefore believe that there is an urgent need to revitalize them?
«I speak for Forza Italia. And I say that our popular mass movement was fortunate to be led by a very special and charismatic leader. Now that unfortunately Berlusconi is no longer here, but his thoughts and his actions are the roots of our future, we are something else. A structured and very active party in the territories and institutions. It is the real parties like Forza Italia, which represents the EPP in Italy, that are driving democracy. These parties are, as the Constitution says, the link between citizens and the State. And they are the parties – far from anti-political populism, far from technical governments! – the engines of the government and Parliament”.
This seems like an election campaign lacking in European content. How to reverse the trend?
«I ran precisely to give European and pro-European substance to these elections. I have no lack of experience in the field: I am the only one to have been President of the European Parliament, twice Vice-President of the Commission and now I am a member of the European Council. We have very clear ideas about what to do. We need to make citizens understand that our daily life is closely linked to what is decided in Europe, from security to climate change (on which pragmatism and not ideology is needed) and many other social, industrial and agricultural issues on which green forcing is counterproductive precisely for people’s lives. European housing regulations are unfeasible because they translate into a financial burden for owners.”
People risk not voting because Europe, as with the war in Ukraine, is cowardly and indecisive. Isn’t it time for a change?
«We need the end of unanimity and the introduction of qualified majority voting. We need the direct election of the president of the EU Commission who must also be president of the European Council. Because the duplication that exists now is not useful for a stronger Europe and therefore more perceptible by citizens. Many of whom consider the buildings of Brussels far from their needs and dominated by bureaucratic dictates of law. Therefore, another important reform is needed: giving the European Parliament the power of legislative initiative. Today an Italian parliamentarian can propose a law, whereas the European parliamentarian can only modify a law proposed by the Commission. We must make the democracy of the EU institutions perceived much more. Because this way citizens feel like protagonists and go to the polls.”
How much do you fear abstention?
«If the electoral campaign is conducted well, there will be participation. I ran precisely to make this campaign truly pro-European. Everyone should be reminded that 80 percent of Italian laws are applications of European ones. And in short: Brussels takes care of us and Brussels must be us.”
It would be a perfect slogan to make her become president of the EU Commission in place of von der Leyen.
«As Sandro Pertini said: hic manebimus optime. That is: it is very important for me to continue the work I am doing in Italy and in Forza Italia.”
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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