EU ‘oligarchy’ betrayed voters with appointment of top jobs, says Meloni

Giorgia Meloni says new leaders should have better reflected the will of voters - Antonio Masiello/Getty Images Europe

Giorgia Meloni accused European leaders of acting like “an oligarchy” by stitching together backroom deals to divvy up the EU’s top jobs.

Addressing parliament in Rome, the Italian prime minister accused the EU establishment of continuing to act as if the political landscape had not changed after the European elections, held in early June, which saw a big swing to the Right.

“The European ruling classes (are) tempted to sweep the dust under the carpet, as if nothing had happened,” said Ms Meloni, responding to a deal reportedly reached on Tuesday by the leaders of six EU nations to put forward Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission president for a second time, appoint Antonio Costa, the Portuguese former socialist prime minister, as the president of the European Council and make Kaja Kallas, the Estonian prime minister, the EU foreign policy chief.

Rather than cooking up cosy “fireside deals” to apportion the top jobs to establishment figures, leaders should have better reflected the will of voters, Ms Meloni said.

She criticised “those who argue that citizens are not mature enough to make certain decisions, and (believe) that oligarchy is basically the only acceptable form of democracy. I am not of this opinion. I have fought this surreal principle in Italy and I intend to fight it in Europe too,” she told MPs.

‘Fragile majority’ decided top jobs

The decision on who should be awarded the top jobs had been made by “a fragile majority” within the European Parliament, Ms Meloni said.

The consultations took place between six national leaders, including France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Olaf Scholz, who represent the three main blocs in the European Parliament: the centre-Right European People’s Party (EPP) and its partners, the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and the centrist group Renew Europe.

Emmanuel Macron (left) and Olaf Scholz took part in consultations - Ebrahim Noroozi/Pool AP

Ms Meloni argues that the success of the hard-Right European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group, which she leads, should be reflected in the bloc’s new leadership.

“If we want to do good service to Europe and its credibility, we must show that we have understood the errors of the past and have the utmost consideration for the directions of the citizens, who are asking for a more concrete, less ideological Europe.”

Instead, the EU’s top jobs were being apportioned by political leaders whose parties performed poorly in the EU elections, she said.

“Only Italy among the great European nations has a positive figure, with almost 53 per cent of those elected” MEPs belonging to the governing centre-Right coalition, Ms Meloni added.

Ms Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party increased its support from 26 per cent, the proportion of the vote it won in Italy’s last general election, to 29 per cent.

“If there is one indisputable thing that comes from the ballot box, it is the rejection of the policies pursued by the political parties in government in many of the large European nations, which, in many cases, are also the parties that have dictated the European policies of recent years,” she said.

The accord on the top jobs will be submitted for approval at a summit in Brussels starting on Thursday.

If confirmed, it will mean that centrist and pro-EU groups keep hold of power despite a surge in support for hard-Right and Eurosceptic parties, not just in Italy but in Germany, France and other countries.

Play The Telegraph’s brilliant range of Puzzles - and feel brighter every day. Train your brain and boost your mood with PlusWord, the Mini Crossword, the fearsome Killer Sudoku and even the classic Cryptic Crossword.