Georgia Meloni meet Matthew Salvini in a farmhouse in Ceglie Messapica and then calls by telephone, together with the leader of the League, Antonio Tajani,in these hours in Fiuggi for a few hours of relaxation. “Convivial” talks, the Prime Minister defines them in conversation with Ansa, but perhaps useful to make an initial assessment of the situation in view of the recovery and to agree on the summit in Rome for August 30. From that moment on, several open questions will be addressed, including the EU nominations, but also the issue of Rai nominations and the delicate dossier, already open at the ministerial level, of the maneuver. The convivial tone in the farmhouse (among others, the President of the Chamber Lorenzo Fontana accompanied by his family was also present) does not exclude, however, that an initial reflection may have been made on the main topics on the table – it is reasoned in majority circles – starting from Europe.
The Prime Minister is therefore weaving the plot even in these days of holiday relaxation to untie the open issues in the best possible way, upon resumption, starting with the choice of the European Commissioner. Balance on track is Raffaele Fitto. And there can be no subordinates, in a delicate phase of negotiations. Even if, among others, the name of Elisabetta Belloni, a high-ranking diplomat and now director of the government’s information security department, is circulating, as is that of Roberto Cingolani, Minister of Ecological Transition with Mario Draghi and current CEO of Leonardo. Beyond the Prime Minister’s direct relations with Ursula Von der Leyen, considered decisive for any solution, there are two factors that will have their weight in the final choices for the team of commissioners, the majority is reasoning. The first concerns the role of Italy as a founding country of the EU; the second, more problematic, the positioning of Emmanuel Macron’s France, Olaf Scholz’s Germany and Donald Tusk’s Poland. In this context, the constant work, currently under the radar, of the prime minister fits in.
Italy aims high with Fitto and with the objective of strong delegations such as those involving the management of the Pnrr or agriculture. Certainly, objectives not easy to achieve. Even if, it is still remembered, our outgoing commissioner, Paul Gentiloniwill leave the place to the new Italian representative after having managed the delegations for economic and monetary affairs. Delegations of weight, however, that do not put on the table the possibility of losing specific weight with the new administration. In this logic, a strong signal from Brussels is expected from Rome. And perhaps a lot will also depend on the mediation skills of the President of the Commission who could among other things decide to entrust Italy with specific delegations that concern the competences of the presidency, is still reasoning in the majority that does not stop reminding how the personal relations between Meloni and Von der Leyen are decidedly better than how they are portrayed by the press.
The game is therefore wide open and will be played until the last moment, between the two leaders, Giorgia and Ursula. The fact remains – it is emphasized in government circles – that Rome will do everything possible to achieve the objectives it considers priority and appropriate with respect to the weight of our country in Europe. In this context, some reasoning may have been made in the masseria on the possible future government structures in the event that Fitto were to move to Brussels. And on one point the position of the prime minister has seemed clear for some time, it is said in majority circles: no reshuffles or reshuffles are foreseen, therefore an interim that will be assumed by the Prime Minister is more likely. In the background, the game of Rai nominations on which the League would insist to obtain a general director, or the important seat of the director of Tg1: a complex game and it seems still open.