AP

Italy’s far-right Meloni on vote: I’m no danger to democracy

Aug 9, 2022, 5:28 PM | Updated: Aug 10, 2022, 6:44 am

FILE -- Brothers of Italy's far-right party Giorgia Meloni attends a media event for center-right l...

FILE -- Brothers of Italy's far-right party Giorgia Meloni attends a media event for center-right leaders ahead of the March 4 general elections, in Rome, Thursday, March 1, 2018. Meloni, who is leading in opinion polls ahead of the Sept. 25 parliamentary elections, on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022, said in a message recorded in English, French and Spanish, and distributed by her campaign, that she won’t be a danger to democracy if she becomes premier, and also dismissed as “nonsense” concerns that if her Brothers of Italy party comes to power, making her Italy's first far-right premier, there would be a risk of “anti-democratic drift” or “an authoritarian turn", or that the country might exit the euro-currency membership group. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

(AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

ROME (AP) — Italy’s far-right leader Giorgia Meloni, who is leading in opinion polls ahead of Sept. 25 parliamentary elections, insists she won’t be a danger to democracy if she becomes premier, contending that the Italian political right has “unambiguously” condemned the legacy of fascism.

She also dismissed as “nonsense” concerns that if her Brothers of Italy party comes to power, making her Italy’s first far-right premier, there would be a risk of an “anti-democratic drift” or “authoritarian turn,” or that the country might exit the group of European nations using the euro currency.

Meloni made the comments in a message recorded in English, French and Spanish, and distributed Wednesday by her campaign.

Meloni has railed against European Union bureaucracy for years as infringing on national sovereignty. But she blasted Wednesday as an “absurd narrative” that a center-right government — with her campaign allies League leader Matteo Salvini and former Premier Silvio Berlusconi — would jeopardize implementation of reforms needed to receive all of the 200 billion euros (dollars) earmarked for Italy in EU pandemic recovery funds.

“For days, I have been reading articles in the international press about the upcoming elections that will give Italy a new government, in which I am described as a danger to democracy, to Italian, European and international stability,” Meloni said, sitting at a desk and reading the message with a stern, no-nonsense tone.

She also referred to media accounts depicting any victory by Brothers of Italy as “a disaster, leading to an authoritarian turn, Italy’s departure from the euro and other nonsense of this sort.”

“None of this is true,” she declared.

Fast-growing in popularity, her party uses a symbol featuring a tri-colored flame that had been an icon of an Italian neo-fascist party whose members included some open admirers of the rule of Benito Mussolini, the fascist dictator in the decades leading up to World War II and during the conflict. Mussolini’s regime brought about a 1938 law targeting Italy’s small Jewish population, excluding them from public life, including in education and business.

Meloni has been dogged by criticism that she has been ambiguous about denouncing Italy’s fascist past.

In Wednesday’s message, she summarily dismissed such contentions.

“The Italian right has handed fascism over to history for decades now, unambiguously condemning the suppression of democracy and the ignominious anti-Jewish laws,” Meloni said.

Her contention ignored attempts, including by her allies, to minimize some of Mussolini’s legacy. For example, Berlusconi, referring to internal exile for Italian opponents of fascism, once said that the dictator sent them on “vacation” to Italian islands.

Recent opinion polls have indicated Meloni’s support among eligible voters slightly ahead of her main rival in the election, Democratic Party leader Enrico Letta, a former premier.

Under Italy’s complex electoral rules, victors need extensive campaign alliances with other parties to control Parliament. But the Democrats have struggled to match the reach of the center-right’s campaign alliance, especially when they refused to ally with the populist 5-Stars, who triggered a crisis that eventually collapsed Premier Mario Draghi’s broad pandemic unity coalition last month.

Still, the dynamics between the center-right and center-left bloc could shift. Letta announced on Wednesday that coming on board as a Democratic Party candidate for a Parliamentary seat will be Carlo Cottarelli, a widely-respected economist who held positions in Italy’s central bank and with the International Monetary Fund.

“The next election is probably the most important we have had and likely to be in the years to come,” Cottarelli said. The vote essentially comes down to “progressives vs. conservatives. Italy has to decide” its future, he said.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

15 hours ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

15 hours ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

16 hours ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

4 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

6 days ago

Photo: Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits 282 (East Ham) Squadron, RAF Air Cadets, Cornwel...

Associated Press

Kate Middleton announces she has cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, says she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. She has been out of view since Christmas.

6 days ago

Italy’s far-right Meloni on vote: I’m no danger to democracy