Politics

John Downing: Von der Leyen-Meloni alliance leaves Brussels guessing

Giorgia Meloni, the first hard-right Italian leader since Mussolini, had quite a week of international wins, first wowing British prime minister Keir Starmer in Rome and then increasing her political reach in Brussels by landing a big job, against much opposition, for her European Commission nominee.

Britain's prime minister Keir Starmer with Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Monday. Photo: PA Giorgia Meloni, the first hard-right Italian leader since Mussolini, had quite a week of international wins, first wowing British prime minister Keir Starmer in Rome and then increasing her political reach in Brussels by landing a big job, against much opposition, for her European Commission nominee. But what are the real implications of that other powerful EU woman, Ursula von der Leyen, mainstreaming the far-right already on the rise across Europe? It seems the newly reinstalled commission president needs the votes of Meloni’s European Conservative and Reformist group (ECR) in the European Parliament for new laws.

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