In Italy, times are hard for the moderates, who find it difficult to resist the flight of their voters. Former minister of Enrico Letta then of Matteo Renzi, leader of Noi Moderati, Maurizio Lupi joined the coalition of the rights bringing together four parts
In Italy, times are hard for the moderates, who find it difficult to resist the flight of their voters. Former minister of Enrico Letta then of Matteo Renzi, leader of Noi Moderati, Maurizio Lupi joined the coalition of the rights bringing together four parties, including the two far-right formations, Fratelli d’Italia of Georgia Meloni and the League of Matteo Salvini .
A few days before the legislative elections on Sunday, September 25, Maurizio Lupi defends Georgia Meloni and explains to us the stakes of a decisive ballot which should, according to forecasts, see the emergence of a nationalist and conservative government.
Paris Match. In France, Giorgia Meloni and Matteo Salvini are perceived as opponents of Brussels, nationalist sovereignists. We imagine them closer to Viktor Orban than to Macron. Are we mistaken?
Maurizio Lupi. Yes, and that does not at all reflect the reality of Italian politics. They are both part of a coalition called center right, where the same parties have been working together for thirty years. To give you an example, Giorgia Meloni did not choose to affiliate her group with that of Marine Le Pen in the European Parliament but with the European conservatives and reformists. His positions on foreign policy are very clear. It is clearly Western, pro-European and Atlanticist. Our coalition is totally on Ukraine’s side, there is no doubt about that. We believe that it is imperative not to give in to the energy blackmail exercised by Russia and to support the policy of European sanctions.
Giorgia Meloni can be very critical of European institutions, Matteo Salvini is even more so, and his party has always had ties with Russia…
This is no longer true today. In any case, whoever is the leader who will take the helm of this coalition the day after the election, he will have to take the governance pact into account. It has always been so and our pro-European feeling has never been undermined.
The balances of your coalition were not the same in the 1990s and 2000s. The main component then was Berlusconi’s party, which can be described as centre-right. The nationalists, Umberto Bossi’s Northern League and Gianfranco Fini’s National Alliance, came much later. Today, the balance of power is reversed. How do you explain it?
Yes, it is a fact. In 2008, Silvio Berlusconi’s party won 13.5 million votes, and the centrists, 2 million. The League was an important but minority partner. Today, between Forza Italia, which could collect 2.3 million votes, and Noi Moderati, our formation which could collect up to 1 million, we arrive at a total of 3 million or a little more. So we lost 12 million votes! The question for us is how to get those voters back. We are working on it and building a moderate offer for it.
It’s not easy to be moderate today. The previous head of government, Mario Draghi, was himself seen as a moderate. He was an ally of President Macron. Do you think that France and Italy could maintain such good relations with a government of your coalition?
Sure. Emmanuel Macron can form a strong alliance with a centre-right government, even with Giorgia Meloni. We have always demonstrated our attachment to the European Union. We also believe that the response to soaring gas prices should be European. I will give you another example: the European Parliament has been called upon to express its views on the taxonomy of energy sources compatible with the environment. Gas and nuclear have been added to renewables. Our centre-right coalition has come out in favor of this provision. The left-wing parties, which formed the coalition led by Mario Draghi, voted against. This brings us closer to France, which produces 70% of its energy from nuclear power.
In Italy, we compare your career with that of the former leader of the 5 Star Movement, Luigi Di Maio, who was Minister of Foreign Affairs: you both sold drinks in football stadiums…
Yes, absolutely! My parents were workers, so I did odd jobs during my studies, but I also taught at university. Then, I worked for the convention center at the Milan fair, I was assistant to the town planning of the city at the time of the development of the great periphery. You could say that I made a contribution to the world of work before entering politics.
This is not the case of Luigi Di Maio?
That, I let you say!