Nine months before the European Parliament elections, talks between the Italian right-wing European parties have begun, Il Giornale writes. On Thursday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will address the Demographic Summit in Budapest, which will also be attended by Hungarian Prime Minister Orban. The paper believes that Ms Meloni's visit to Budapest is a sign of rapprochement and that new alliances could be on the cards.
The possibility that the discussions will also touch on the joining of Hungary's ruling Fidesz party to the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) party family, led by Ms Meloni, cannot be ruled out. Italy's prime minister will address the same panel at the Budapest conference, which will also feature speeches by Hungarian President Katalin Novak and PM Orban, among others.
The preparations for the European Parliament elections will have two important venues this week: Budapest and Pontida. Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, president of the League party, has announced that Marine Le Pen, the president of the French National Rally party and leader of the French opposition, will be the guest of the party event in Pontida on Sunday. Both events signal that political parties in Italy are making preparations for next June's European contest. While Mr Salvini intends to strengthen his alliance with the French party of the Identity and Democracy family, Ms Meloni plans to consolidate her ties with PM Orban and Fidesz.
She has given several signs of her rapprochement with Fidesz after Hungary's governing party had left the European People's Party in 2021 and has not joined any grouping since then. According to the Italian newspaper, there is a high degree of agreement on many political issues, with the exception of the war in Ukraine. A cordial meeting between PM Giorgia Meloni and Hungarian President Katalin Novak took place at the end of August, which suggests a degree of harmony between the two countries.
