In the crowd, Maria-Pia waves a Gioventù Nazionale flag, the youth movement of Fratelli d’Italia, the postfascist party led by Giorgia Meloni. Accompanied by two friends from Acerra, a city in the greater suburbs of Naples, the young 18-year-old law student impatiently awaits her heroine. “Young people my age are disappointed with politics, but it’s good to fight for your ideas, and Giorgia Meloni is the only one who does it with consistency”she says.
One week before the legislative election on September 25, the leader of the right-wing coalition has chosen Campania (South) to tackle the home stretch of her campaign. It was in Caserta, a stone’s throw from the majestic Bourbon royal palace in Naples, known as the “Italian Versailles”, that the Fratelli d’Italia party (extreme right) set up a platform, Sunday, September 18 in the evening.
Greeted by a jubilant crowd, Giorgia Meloni arrives on the main stage, where a Plexiglas desk has been installed. But, as often, it is while walking, microphone in hand, that she expresses herself, approaching as close as possible to the crowd. In this hyper-personalized campaign, the leader of the party is the only one to speak; the elected members of his political party are relegated to the foot of the stage.
Defense of the welfare state
From the outset, the president of Fratelli d’Italia attacks the left. “They are afraid, they have nothing to say, they want to maintain a system where their friends remain in powershe cried to thunderous applause. We want an Italy based on merit and not on the privilege of relationships. »
Giorgia Meloni chose the theme of decline to begin her speech, an issue that finds particular resonance in this southern Italy. “A region like this must stop being perceived as the one where we receive the most social assistance, it’s insulting”she develops, believing that “ the State must give worthy assistance to those who are unable to live properly”. Giorgia Meloni defends a form of welfare state and clearly pleads for an increase in social minima, contrasting with the positions of her partners in the right-wing coalition. She cites in particular the invalidity pension at less than 300 euros or the level of certain pensions, which do not exceed 500 euros per month and “who are a disgrace in this country”. ” You deserve better! », she launches to her militants. “The state is an adversary, when it should be an ally”she protests again.
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