The tractor protest chokes Meloni

Opposition is a political state of mind that allows you to say almost anything without the slightest consequence on the map of reality. Resource management, however, sets the real ideology of the party. And the far-right Italian government chaired by Giorgia Meloni, Vox partner in Europe, has now been choked by the protest of Italian farmers. A sector and demands that during years of opposition constituted part of the ideological body of the Brothers of Italy and the League – a partner of the Executive – to attack Brussels, but which, once in power, are difficult to satisfy. And it is especially difficult to reconcile the past and the present, furthermore, taking into account that the European Commissioner for Agriculture, the Polish Janusz Wojciechowski, belongs to the Polish PiS, Meloni's main partner in the European Conservatives and Reformers (ECR) group, which she herself presides.

The agricultural sector and the policies of the European Union in this area occupied for years an enormous space in the rallies of Meloni and Matteo Salvini, leader of the League. Also in other European far-right parties, such as in France (Marine Le Pen herself climbed onto a tractor a few days ago to show her support for the protesters). The old idea of ​​made in Italy, leitmotiv to defend indigenous products, and the opportunity to attack Brussels and its “bureaucrats”, pushed the League and Brothers of Italy towards a potential electorate dissatisfied with the urban left of the Democratic Party. After the conquest of the old workers disenchanted with the Communist Party, the siren songs came for the countryside. However, at this moment both parties, which together with Forza Italia form the coalition that governs the country, are fighting to determine whose fault it is that the tractors have arrived in Rome at the pace of the threats against the current Executive. .

Meloni, who for the moment has refused to receive the protesting farmers at the Chigi Palace, wanted to give a strong weight to the Ministry of Agriculture upon their arrival. So much so that he decided to put Francesco Lollobrigida in charge, his brother-in-law and member of his close circle of advisors. The prime minister then forged a strong alliance with Coldiretti, the country's main agricultural association and one of the largest and most active in Europe. In fact, its president, Ettore Prandini, is considering the possibility of becoming a candidate for the Brothers of Italy for the European elections next June. However, small agricultural unions have seen this relationship as a grievance and feel that their demands have been marginalized.

Meloni addressed the criticism on Wednesday and recalled that “long before the protests, and before people took to the streets, the Government defended the agricultural sector from some overly ideological decisions.” The far-right leader also stressed that “with the renegotiation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan”, with which European funds are managed to alleviate the effects of the pandemic, her Executive has “released 3,000 million euros for agricultural holdings”, according to local media.

Meloni had already celebrated this Tuesday the announcement by the European Commission of the withdrawal of the legislative proposal on pesticides, shortly after learning of this decision applauded by farmers. But it was not enough. Because Salvini accuses his own Executive, Meloni's brother-in-law in particular, of not having defended the farmers by applying the personal income tax relief they requested. The problem, they reply in Brother of Italy, is that the Ministry of Economy is directed by a member of Salvini's party, Giancarlo Giorgetti.

Italian farmers brought their tractors to the city gates on Thursday. But they could not agree to organize a large demonstration in Rome and opted to parade symbolically this Friday with four tractors through the center of Rome, while other representatives of the sector wait at the gates of the town of Sanremo with the intention of reaching the stage of the well-known song festival. But here, again, it is the Rai – whose board of directors controls the current Executive – that has refused to allow them to be received inside the festival to express their demands and will only allow the presenter of the event to read a statement from the farmers.

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