Growth, Europe, Ukraine, the cost of energy, the rise of the far right: in an interview with the director of Foglio the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reviewed a wide variety of topics.
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Goal 1% growth
Regarding economic growth, the Prime Minister said that “although in a very difficult and uncertain context, the Italian economy is holding up well and the data for the first six months of the year could lead to a 2026 growth of 1%, in line with or even higher than that of the euro area.” In April, the government had forecast growth of 0.6% for the current year but last month the Upb released a more optimistic estimate, at 0.9%.
“Greater EU integration? I disagree with Draghi”
As for Europe, Meloni emphasized that “the functioning mechanism of the European Union has proven inadequate to face the great challenges of our time. I am happy that now we all agree that a change of pace is needed, because when we said it we were accused of being anti-European. However, I do not believe the solution is to seek even more European integration or the overcoming of unanimity or a federal Europe that surpasses national states, and therefore I disagree with Mario Draghi. Together with the family of European conservatives, I have always believed that the exact opposite is needed, namely a confederal model of Europe, in which member states maintain broad sovereignty more effectively on matters of strategic importance.
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“No alliance with those who vote against support for Kiev”
In the interview Meloni explains why she is not willing to ally with those who vote against the defense of Ukraine. “Giorgia Meloni is certainly not willing to do the opposite of what she has done so far, or what she believes in, for political or electoral calculation. I am a serious person, and I am not good for all seasons. Those looking for a prime minister who changes their mind based on the support of this or that party, always and only for personal gain, should look elsewhere. And I think I also know where, because we have already been through this.”
Then there is the issue of energy costs? “The strong dependence on foreign countries is a structural factor on which we have intervened and are intervening on multiple fronts: from diversifying supply sources, also through accelerating renewables, to reopening nuclear power, particularly new generation nuclear, which we believe can be the real solution for our energy security, up to the latest measures to accelerate permits for hydrocarbon exploration and extraction, we are doing everything in our power to make the Nation more autonomous and lower costs. That said, it pains me greatly not to have been able to do more for families and businesses precisely regarding the high energy costs, even though we dedicated, especially at the start of the legislature, a good part of the available resources to address the problem. We will continue to do so in this phase as well.”
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