The far-right frontrunner in Italy's upcoming elections, Giorgia Meloni, gave a speech in Milan in which she promised to defend the country's interests against the EU.
"They say that in Europe there is concern because of Meloni. What is going to happen? What will happen is, the good times are over! What will happen is that Italy will start defending its national interests as well, just as the others do in search of communal solutions," Meloni said at a rally in front of Milan Cathedral late Sunday.
Meloni's Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy) party is currently enjoying a substantial lead in the polls, along with other right-leaning parties.
In her speech, she added that Germany and the Netherlands also prioritized their national interest in EU discussions, citing their opposition to an EU-wide gas price cap as an example.
While Meloni has emphasized that Italy would remain a reliable partner within the EU in the course of her campaign, she has also suggested that she would seek to renegotiate several deals and agreements.
The fact that Italy will receive €192 billion ($195 billion) as part of EU pandemic recovery funds, the most of any EU country, did not get a mention in Meloni's speech.
After the government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi collapsed in July new elections have been scheduled for September 25.
The Fratelli d'Italia, together with Matteo Salvini's right-wing Lega and Silvio Berlusconi's conservative Forza Italia parties, have a chance of achieving a two-third's majority in the elections. That would enable the government to change the constitution without holding a referendum.
