Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament, strengthens even more the presence of women in top EU offices, but also the conservative one
More women in European high offices but also more conservative. While Italian politics seems to have gotten bogged down in seeking a convergence on a name that could bring a woman to the Quirinale, Europe is moving forward and naming the Maltese Roberta Metsola president of the European Parliament, first exponent of the “Erasmus generation”To reach such a high charge, the highest, further strengthening the presence of women at the top of the Union.
In fact, Metsola supports the president of the EU Commission, the German Ursula von der Leyen, and the president of the ECB, the French Christine Lagarde, leaving Charles Michel the only male in the four main European top positions (the Belgian remains president of the Council for now).
The 43-year-old Maltese is also the youngest among those who have come to lead the house of European democracy. Among the 27 leaders of the EU countries, however, at the moment there are only four women and all from the North, since, after Angela Merkel, sitting around the table of the European Council remained the premier of Denmark, Finland, Estonia and Sweden. Things are not much better in national parliaments, where according to the latest data the female share is still at 32%.
It is certainly worth noting that she was also elected to the vice-presidency of the European parliament Pina Picierno: woman, Italian, young, southern, of the Democratic Party. Perhaps more unique than rare case. In fact, if you take a closer look at the top female European positions, you realize that they are all of the conservative area: Metsola, like von der Leyen and Christine Lagarde. As is Angela Merkel, former German Chancellor.
But not only: in France are running for the presidency of the republic, in addition to Macron, two women, Valerie Pecresse and Marine Le Pen, both conservative. In Italy the strongest female leader is Giorgia Meloni. The United Kingdom had two female premieres, both conservative, Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May.
Italy and the race to the Quirinale
And the left? If in Europe it hesitates, in Italy it seems quite immobile. Subject to Beatrice Brignone, Possible’s secretary, And Viola Carofalo, spokesperson for Power to the People, the center Democrats of the Pd they struggle to pass from words to deeds. Enrico Letta, just arrived at the head of the party, he placed two women at the head of the parliamentary groups, Simona Malpezzi for the Senate, Debora Serracchiani for the Chamber. And then? And then nothing, the female driving force seems to have stopped there.
Also in the race to the Quirinale this difficulty is felt. More and more voices have been raised by the Democratic Party to ask a woman president of the Republic after Mattarella, but on which specific woman there do not seem to be clear ideas, as if the image of “a woman” head of state were enough to be progressive, rather than constantly support female empowerment with active social and cultural policies to ensure that women are considered as valid as men.
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