Meloni, Italy opposition head to hold unprecendented debate

Meloni, Italy opposition head to hold unprecendented debate
Meloni, Italy opposition head to hold unprecendented debate

Hello and welcome to the details of Meloni, Italy opposition head to hold unprecendented debate and now with the details

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - File photo of Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni in Rome on May 8, 2024. — AFP pic

ROME, May 11 — Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will spar with main opposition party leader Elly Schlein in an unprecedented debate on May 23 ahead of the European elections.

The debate — the first ever in Italy between a sitting prime minister and the head of the opposition — will be hosted on Rai1, the flagship station of the state broadcaster.

Meloni, head of the Brothers of Italy party, has been in power since October 2022 as part of a coalition with other right-wing parties.

Partly in response to losing that year’s election, Schlein was elected to lead the opposition centre-left Democratic Party (PD) in March 2023.

Advertisement

Both of them are at the top of their party’s lists for the June 8-9 European elections.

Neither will take their seats in the European Parliament however with Meloni planning to stay on as prime minister and Schlein preferring to remain a member of the Italian chamber of deputies.

Recent polls put Brothers of Italy at 27 per cent in the European vote and the PD at 20 per cent.

Advertisement

Apart from both being the first women in their respective positions, the two are polar opposites.

Meloni, 46, is a skilled orator with a modest suburban background. Her party stresses Italy’s Christian roots and has put the fight against immigration on top of its agenda.

Schlein, 39, who is in a couple with another woman, comes from an academic family and also has US and Swiss nationality. She is less comfortable with public speaking than her rival.

Meloni’s party is running on a campaign slogan of “Italy is changing Europe” while Schlein has focused on problems with Italy’s healthcare system.

Negotiations over organising the debate were arduous, both teams said.

Schlein has for months accused the right-wing governing coalition of interfering with coverage at Rai, which she says has become a “government megaphone”.

Italian leaders have long been accused of meddling with Rai, but insiders say intrusions have become more pronounced under Meloni.

Rai journalists have told AFP that investigative reporters have been pushed aside, pro-government commentators promoted, and programmes critical of members of the government cancelled or watered-down.

“I have worked at Rai for 20 years but I have never felt such pressure or seen as much censorship,” Enrica Agostini, a journalist at Rai News, told the Foreign Press Association in Rome.

Some Rai journalists held a 24-hour strike this week, though most programming continued as usual thanks to a union more favourable to the government not joining.

“TeleMeloni is the fruit of imagination of the left”, Brothers of Italy said this week on X. — AFP

These were the details of the news Meloni, Italy opposition head to hold unprecendented debate for this day. We hope that we have succeeded by giving you the full details and information. To follow all our news, you can subscribe to the alerts system or to one of our different systems to provide you with all that is new.

It is also worth noting that the original news has been published and is available at Malay Mail and the editorial team at AlKhaleej Today has confirmed it and it has been modified, and it may have been completely transferred or quoted from it and you can read and follow this news from its main source.

NEXT US military raises alert level for Europe bases: reports

Author Information

I have been an independent financial adviser for over 11 years in the city and in recent years turned my experience in finance and passion for journalism into a full time role. I perform analysis of Companies and publicize valuable information for shareholder community. Address: 2077 Sharon Lane Mishawaka, IN 46544, USA Phone: (+1) 574-255-1083 Email: [email protected]