Meloni’s next steps. She writes to the EU again and awaits the mid-term elections. Fears of a rift within the League over the budget deviation

“Take away my step.” What if this “minus” were Meloni’s “plus” – the step that lifts you up whilst lowering you? She has resumed writing letters alongside Merz, demanding answers on energy, and they say she is imagining how wonderful America would be with Trump “halved” in the Midterms. If you ask FdI what they think of a possible defeat for the boor, you’ll hear them reply: “If only.” The amusing scene at Assolombarda in Milan, where Meloni refused the step – “have you perhaps underestimated me?” – reveals this need of hers: less is more. Today the budget deviation is being voted on, and it will be yet another test of love.

This is the first election since the electoral law was passed, and it will be interesting to see whether the centre-right coalition will remain united or whether the Lega – which is currently without a secretary (Salvini has formally resigned ahead of the party conference) – will begin to crumble. There are the holdouts – MPs who are holding their noses just to see out their term – but there are also those within the Lega who have already defected, those who, from now on, are looking around, dreaming of Vannacci’s island, the Calypso with the Decima. Two hundred and one votes are needed, and on paper there are two absentees from the League. The FdI observers watching from the gallery during the vote on the Melonellum noticed that League MPs were voting with the same enthusiasm one might feel when visiting the dentist. The bill has passed, and now the most coveted seats are those at the top of the party lists. If FdI cannot offer them, and if Forza Italia is already plagued by the three-way dispute between Tajani, Zangrillo and Occhiuto, where might the votes of the disgruntled Lega members end up? The reservoir is always Vannacci.

In one of his latest videos, Fabrizio Corona – at least judging by the content he shares online – suggests that he might end up alongside the controversial General, Jonghi Lavarini and Lubamba, all together like a Pride float. Futuro Nazionale is expected to vote against the budget deviation today and attempt to win over voters. These figures are doing the rounds. Vannacci has 15 guaranteed top-of-the-list seats – more than the MPs he’s brought on board – and it’s the Vannacci supporters who are telling you: ‘We have the list of those who want to join us’. They also tell you that it’s Vannacci who’s making the selection, and they tell you that without them, there’s no chance of winning. On Wednesday, Meloni will be in the Chamber, ahead of the European Council, and may respond to Paromonov, the Russian ambassador, who is sounding the trumpet, explaining to us: “There is an Italy and a section of the opposition that does not want war with us.”

Fears of being left with just a hot water bottle are resurfacing, and there are those who want to buy Russian gas. You’ll see that, just like last year, the fear of being left in the cold will resurface to such an extent that even the president of Confindustria, Orsini, is of the opinion that ‘there can be no ideology when it comes to energy’. This is one of the reasons driving Meloni to call, alongside the German Chancellor and the Belgian Prime Minister, Bart De Wever (this group now calling itself the ‘Friends of Competitiveness’), for fewer burdens and greater flexibility. One of the many EU Commissioners – this time the Commissioner for Justice – responded, stating, as usual, ‘that flexibility is already provided for’. Giorgetti, too, replied during the hearing before the Budget Committee – as he has been doing with ease for some time now – “We are calling for flexibility that is consistent with the current context, to be used selectively and responsibly”. Who’s to say they won’t manage to secure further flexibility? Perhaps not all of it, but a step in the right direction.