Threats to Funding Shows EU is Ready to ‘Undermine’ Democracy in Italy – MEP

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a speech during a debate on "T
FREDERICK FLORIN/AFP via Getty Images
Peter Caddle

Threats made by the EU against the funding of the incoming Italian government show that the bloc is ready to “undermine” democracy in the country, an MEP has argued.

Dr Gunnar Beck, an elected representative within the European Parliament for the right-populist German Alternative für Deutschland party, has told Breitbart Europe that recent threats made by senior officials within the bloc against Italy indicate that it is ready to “undermine” democracy in the country.

Italy has earned the ire of many bigwigs within the EU after the country’s public voted to elect a coalition of right-wing parties into power, headed up by the country’s soon-to-be first female Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

However, even before such a coalition achieved victory in last week’s election, Eurocrats were expressing anger over the coalition’s likely ascension, with the bloc’s commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, appearing to threaten the country with consequences should it step out of line.

“My approach is that whatever democratic government is willing to work with us, we’re working together,” she said last week, before adding euphemistically that: “If things go in a difficult direction, I’ve spoken about Hungary and Poland, we have tools.”

Such a statement appears to have been openly backed by former Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, who now serves as the European Commission’s Economy Commissioner, with the official saying that he agrees with von der Leyen “by definition” when probed on her statements on Monday.

In response to this apparent threat, Dr Beck said that it was now clear that the EU is now ” ready and willing to undermine the democratic choice of the Italian people”, something he described as exposing the “anti-democratic nature” of the bloc.

“Commission President von der Leyen committed a major political faux pas when she threatened Italy with legal proceedings and the withholding of EU funds in the name of democracy and the rule of law,” the populist politician told Breitbart Europe.

The Identity and Democracy Group member went on to say that the EU’s tactic of attacking elected European governments for perceived anti-democratic activity was ultimately hypocritical.

“The fundamentally anti-democratic EU threatening its democratically elected governments for allegedly anti-democratic practices suspiciously resembles a well-seasoned courtesan chastising another woman of far less debatable virtue for being the worst slapper about town,” the politician remarked.

With it now highly certain that Italy’s incoming Prime Minister will be a conservative, Catholic woman who supports pro-life and pro-family policies, many within the political establishment and legacy media have been keen to paint her as a “neofascist“, as well as some sort of spiritual successor to former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

Such accusations however have been openly ridiculed by many within Italy, with one senior left-wing politician branding the attempt to link Meloni and her Fratelli D’Italia (Brothers of Italy) with fascism as simply being “fake news”.

“Personally, I was against Giorgia Meloni. I’m not her best friend,” former liberal Prime Minister Matteo Renzi remarked.

“At the same time, I think [Meloni] is not a danger [to] Italian democracy,” he continued. “She is my rival, and we will continue to fight each other, but the idea that now there is a risk of fascism in Italy is absolutely fake news.”

“…I fought against her, but at the same time, I think there is not a danger for fascism in Italy,” Renzi went on to say.

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