Il Canto degli Italiani

The Mattei Plan: why Giorgia Meloni is looking to Africa

Retrieved on:

Thursday, April 25, 2024

Since coming to power, Giorgia Meloni’s government has been remarkably orthodox in its foreign policy.

Key Points:

Since coming to power, Giorgia Meloni’s government has been remarkably orthodox in its foreign policy.
And yet on Africa, the prime minister has broken with convention, pointing to the intractability of the right-wing nationalist coalition’s foreign strategy.

The making of the Mattei plan

To answer such questions, it is worth returning to the first iterations of the Mattei Plan for Africa.
From then on, this Mattei plan for Africa has undergone much scrutiny and driven Italy’s partners wild as they tried to pin down the plan’s contents.

Venturing beyond the Mediterranean..

For a long time, Italy has conceptualised its foreign action by referring to the geographical area of the “enlarged Mediterranean” as its core focus.
In this way, the concept of African policy can be seen as a timely clarification on Italy’s part.

… In the steps of her conservative predecessors

Back in the days when he was head of government in 2014-2016, Matteo Renzi visited nine African countries, calling to invest in the continent in terms quite comparable to those of the Mattei Plan.
The idea of a correlation between the fight against immigration and the development of Africa appealed to the Meloni government, which associated it with the Mattei Plan.
The presence of European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen further added a European dimension to the initiative, a point not lost on Italian President Sergio Mattarella.

Italy’s old ties with Africa

Italy is strongly rooted in Africa.
We’ve already mentioned the importance of ENI, the state-owned oil and gas company that plays a pre-eminent role on the continent.
We therefore observe a remarkable intensity in the relationship between Italian non-governmental actors and Africa.

Addressing the root causes of immigration

Italy’s African policy initiative thus corresponds to a necessity for Meloni, who has to deal with attempts by Matteo Salvini’s Lega party to outflank her on the right.
But it also responds to a series of wider influences that reflect the importance and complexity of the relationship between Italy and Africa.

Jean-Pierre Darnis a reçu des financements publics de recherche dans le cadre de l'Académie 5 de l'Université Côte d'Azur / financements IDEX

From France to Italy, Hungary to Sweden, voting intentions track the far-right's rise in Europe

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, October 4, 2023

A little over a year since leader of Fratelli d'Italia Georgia Meloni rose to power in Italy, the latest data spells out a clear message: she is not the only ultraright politician surfing on voters’ anxieties. In fact, we may be entering a new cycle of far-right extremism across the continent, with heavy stakes for the next European elections in June 2024.A far right momentLast year, in France, Marine Le Pen won an all-time record-high 41.5% of the vote in the second round of the presidential election.

Key Points:

A little over a year since leader of Fratelli d'Italia Georgia Meloni rose to power in Italy, the latest data spells out a clear message: she is not the only ultraright politician surfing on voters’ anxieties. In fact, we may be entering a new cycle of far-right extremism across the continent, with heavy stakes for the next European elections in June 2024.

A far right moment

Last year, in France, Marine Le Pen won an all-time record-high 41.5% of the vote in the second round of the presidential election.
In Hungary, Fidesz took 54% of the vote in the parliamentary elections, landing Viktor Orbán a fourth consecutive term.
In Eastern and central Europe, the far right is on the rise in Estonia, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria.

Multiple layers of resentment

Their nationalist and anti-establishment rhetoric resonates with growing political discontent among citizens, along with popular demand for authoritative and strong leadership.
According to the region, ultraright politicians have taken a variety of stances toward Russia.
The European elections of June 2024 are likely to see the far right entrench itself more deeply into the political landscape.

Voting intentions and seat projections for far-right parties in Europe

Marine Le Pen has already begun a diplomatic blitz to rally her European far-right allies, and recently launched an offensive against Giorgia Meloni, her main rival for far-right leadership in Europe.
In Hungary, Viktor Orbán is set to secure about his 2019 level of support, but is still isolated within the European far right.

Cutting cordon sanitaires

In many countries, far-right parties have achieved a strategic equilibrium between government credibility and radical politics.
Soon Austria may be added to the list, and possibly Belgium where the growing popularity of the Vlaams Belang is putting the country’s cordon sanitaire under greater strain.
Such contagion has been most visible in the co-optation of far right’s restrictive immigration policies in those countries.

How European parliamentary blocs could evolve

Other far right, pro-Russian parties such as Orban’s Fidesz remain with the Non-Inscrits (unaffiliated).
Bolstered by her success in Italy, Giorgia Meloni is seeking a rapprochement with the European People’s Party (EPP), which would pull the ECR toward the centre of European politics.
Meloni’s strategic downplay of European and immigration issues certainly opens the door to a broader alliance of the European right.
The chair of the European parliamentary group, Manfred Weber, has clearly indicated that future EPP allies should respect the rule of law and unequivocally support Ukraine, singling out the Polish PiS for its illiberal drift.