Italy will elect a new parliament next Sunday. According to the latest polls, the next government in Rome will be led by a woman for the first time: Giorgia Meloni with her Fratelli d’Italia party has a clear lead over her political competitors. She is considered right-wing nationalist.
It is also likely that Meloni will enter into a coalition with Lega boss Matteo Salvini and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia. There is a risk of a shift to the right following the government of former ECB President Mario Draghi, who is still in power but announced his resignation in July.
Ex-EU Commission President Romano Prodi warns of “major problems for the EU” if Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia wins the elections. He fears that Italy could then paralyze the Union with an anti-EU policy, since according to Prodi she is considered an admirer of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Italy’s economy has made remarkable progress. It grew by 6.6 percent in the previous year, the strongest growth since 1976. Admittedly, the growth prospects for this year are no longer so rosy. Like all other EU countries, the country is struggling with the consequences of the Ukraine war, primarily with high energy prices. With the approval of all parties, the Draghi government has passed an aid package worth 17 billion euros in order to at least somewhat alleviate the plight of large parts of the population. Italy is Austria’s second most important trading partner after Germany. Gudrun Hager, Austria’s business delegate in Milan, does not want to comment on the country’s political situation, but points to a very pleasing development in the previous year and also in the first half of the year. With a record trade volume of more than 22.8 billion euros, Italy not only maintained its position as Austria’s second most important economic partner, it also overtook the USA as the second most important export market. “This positive momentum continued in the first half of the year: exports to Italy rose by 25.6 percent between January and June.”
The traditionally strong links with the southern neighboring country have not only proven themselves in view of the global supply chain problem, but also strengthened, says Hager in the OÖN interview.
Italy is not only the third largest economy in the EU, it is also the second largest industrialized country after Germany. This applies above all to northern Italy, i.e. the provinces that directly border Austria. “It’s important to use synergies. And both sides do this too,” says Hager.
Source: Nachrichten