During the informal dinner between the heads of state and government of the 27 countries of the European Union, Giorgia Meloni appeared silent and cold at the beginning of the negotiations for the appointments. On the negotiating table, Open reports, there are the names of Ursula von der Leyen for the European Commission, Roberta Metsola for the European Parliament, Antonio Costa for the Council and Kaja Kallas as High Representative for Foreign Policy. Meloni must decide whether or not to support von der Leyen’s re-election. Although the votes of Fratelli d’Italia are not decisive, Meloni’s support could nevertheless strengthen the position of the current president of the Commission. In exchange, the appointment of Elisabetta Belloni as commissioner could be guaranteed. However, Meloni’s ally Viktor Orbán is pushing to unite the forces of the European right against “bureaucrats pro-immigration and pro-war”.
Meloni’s coldness is due to the feeling of being excluded from important decisions. Before the summit, the socialist negotiators met with the liberals, and later with the People’s Party, leaving the others, including Meloni, out. The Italian Prime Minister arrived in Brussels aware of the risk of finding herself faced with an agreement that has already been concluded. While Meloni could easily secure FdI votes for von der Leyen, supporting Costa is more problematic. The negotiations also include the possible appointment of a powerful commissioner with the title of vice president. Among the names in circulation there is also that of Daniele Franco, indicated as the favorite in the event of delegation to the Competition. The ECR would have preferred to wait for the French elections and a possible rearrangement in the European Parliament.
Many predict and hope that the liberal group will lose some delegations, starting with that of the former Czech prime minister Andrej Babis. Meanwhile, the leaders’ dinner was preceded by a series of meetings between negotiators and by the perception, on the part of other leaders, of a “lack of respect”. According to diplomatic sources, Meloni has made it known that he will not accept a pre-packaged package of appointments, criticizing the method of discussing names before a serious analysis of the election results. Corsera comes up with a quote: “The method is wrong, I’m not willing to accept a pre-packaged package of appointments, the solutions being discussed have not been agreed upon with everyone. But above all it makes no sense to talk about names without first carrying out a serious and in-depth analysis of the vote.” Donald Tusk, Polish Prime Minister, declared that a sufficient majority can exist even without Meloni’s votes. The Italian prime minister also rejected Orbán’s request to join her group, as the disadvantages outweigh the benefits. Despite this, Meloni is trying to strengthen the ECR to overtake the Liberals and become the third largest group in the European Parliament.
