Brothers of Italy (FdI) leader and likely next Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni sharply criticised a French minister over remarks that France may monitor the country for violations of rights and freedoms.
Miss Meloni reacted to statements made by France;’s European Affairs Minister, Laurence Boone, who stated in an interview with Italian media: “We want to work with Rome but will monitor respect for rights and freedoms. It is important that the Meloni government remains on the European front against Moscow and in favour of sanctions.”
“On this point, Meloni has clearly expressed his support for what Europe is doing. After that it is clear that we have differences. We will be very careful to respect the values and rules of the rule of law. The EU has already demonstrated to be vigilant towards other countries such as Hungary and Poland,” Boone added.
Following the remarks, Meloni was quick to slam the French minister, saying: “I want to hope that, as often happens, the left-wing press has misrepresented the real statements made by foreign government representatives, and I trust that the French government will immediately deny these words, which resemble too much an unacceptable threat of interference against a sovereign state, a member of the European Union,” Il Giornale reports.
“The era of DEMOCRATIC Party-led governments that ask for protection abroad is over, I think it is clear to everyone, in Italy and in Europe,” she added — the Democratic Party (PD) being Italy’s main left-establishment political force.
The statement from Minister Boone comes after French prime minister Elisabeth Borne made similar statements regarding Italy and access to abortion.
Just days prior to last month’s national election, which saw Meloni’s FdI come first as the single largest party, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was also accused of threatening Italy stating, “If things go in a difficult direction, I’ve spoken about Hungary and Poland, we have tools.”
“These are disgusting words, the threatening tone is unacceptable,” said populist League leader Matteo Salvini, a member of the right-wing coalition Meloni’s FdI now leads, following von der Leyen’s comments, accusing the EU Commission chief of making an attempt to influence or even blackmail Italian voters.
Meloni and her allies are still in the process of forming the next Italian government, but the FdI leader has stated that her top priorities are the looming winter energy crisis and the rising cost of living for Italians.
“The priority will be the cost of energy, the issue is not how to compensate for [financial] speculation but how to stop it, we cannot continue to give billions to speculators,” Meloni said during a speech to the country’s largest agricultural association.
Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.
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