As we learn from Fratelli d’Italia sources, these are the words of Fratelli d’Italia president Giorgia Meloni to the party executive:
‘We are writing history’: Meloni urges her people to continue working with determination for the nation
“We are making history, and we must all be aware of that. And this involves neither pauses nor stops, but even less can it allow for mistakes and missteps. We all have a task far greater than our expectations and desires, and we must be able to keep this in mind every day. Especially when difficulties may arise. It is the work, the spirit of sacrifice, the determination that brought us to the government of the nation and that will allow us to continue to defend the interests of our people. Nothing else. The Italians believe in us more than we sometimes seem to believe in them’.
The exponential growth of Fratelli d’Italia in elections and the most solid government in Europe and the G7
“The Italians have understood this and, since we have been in government, they have always rewarded us. Fratelli d’Italia has confirmed, in all the last electoral rounds, that it is in excellent health. At the European elections we showed further growth compared to the political ones, and we did so not to the detriment of our centre-right allies. The entire centre-right grew, and this made our government the most solid and stable in Europe and the G7. This is a very important and significant fact, and it has really scared off those who do not accept that the centre-right is in government and that we are changing things’.
Opponents had to invent fake news to attack us
“With this also comes great responsibility. We must also be aware that nothing is forgiven us and nothing will be forgiven. When our adversaries have found nothing to attack, they have had to make up fake news to do so. And when someone made a misstep, they used every tool at their disposal to hit us. We have always been our own most relentless judges, and we must continue to be so, because the historic opportunity that the citizens have given us does not deserve to be wasted because of a mistake, a distraction or a blunder. We cannot afford to lend our side.
Proud of the government’s work and the nation’s credibility in the international context
“We should all be very proud of the imprint that Fratelli d’Italia has made on the government action, supported by the work of the parliamentary groups in the House, the Senate and in the European Parliament. Think of the many historic battles, which we have pursued since our foundation, and which in recent months have seen the light of day.
We have done our work in a particularly complex international framework, characterised by growing instability and conflicts that have repercussions on various scenarios. We are proud of how we have represented Italy in the European and global context. Today, our nation is considered a serious, reliable and authoritative partner, and the success of the G7 Summit in Borgo Egnazia under the Italian Presidency sealed our new posture at the international level. We have contributed to bringing the Mediterranean back to the centre of the scenario, returned Italy to its natural geopolitical and geostrategic projection, and laid the foundations for a new model of cooperation and development with Africa’.
The results in the economic field: GDP, employment, exports, investments, the South. The objectives in the next manoeuvre
“The stability and seriousness of the government’s choices, supported by a solid and united majority, are also contributing to the good performance of the economy. Italy is growing more than other European nations, despite the slowdown in the world economy and the international situation. The macroeconomic data – GDP, employment, exports, investments, etc. – are extremely positive. – are extremely positive and are a sign of great confidence.
Think about the South: while the Left says that we are enemies of the South and that we want to ‘split’ Italy with differentiated autonomy, investments in the South increased by 50 per cent and in 2023 the GDP of the South grew more than the national average, something that had not happened since 2015, by almost half a percentage point.
We recorded the highest number of people employed in the history of Italy. Quality employment is growing and precarious employment, which had exploded during left-wing governments, is decreasing. In the last few hours Democratic Party secretary Elly Schlein has said that she would like to talk to me about the problem of female employment, given that Italy has one of the lowest female employment rates in Europe. True. What Schlein and the left do not say is that it has been like this since the post-war period, but fortunately since we have been in government the gap with the rest of Europe has narrowed. There are now 10 million 240 thousand working women in Italy, with a record employment rate of 53.6 per cent, an increase of 2 percentage points compared to the figure of October 2022, when this government took office’.
It is an economic framework that we intend to strengthen and consolidate with the choices we will make with the next manoeuvre. It will be a budget law inspired, like previous ones, by seriousness and responsibility. We will move, as we have already done, along two fundamental lines: no more waste and follies inherited from left-wing governments and which have devastated public accounts such as the Superbonus; all available resources concentrated on supporting companies that hire and create jobs and to strengthen the purchasing power of families, with special attention to those with children’.
Immigration, the change of pace: decreasing landings and international consolidation
“On immigration, the change of pace is there, and it can be seen. You can see it in the numbers, and in the decreasing trend of landings, which is progressively consolidating. Compared to the same period in 2023, landings have decreased by 64% and the figures are also very positive compared to 2022, -27%. The data tell us that the policies we are pursuing, the choices we have made, the intense diplomatic and international work of the government as a whole with African nations and the agreements we have signed with them – starting with Tunisia and Libya – are right and are working. There are fewer landings and, more importantly, fewer deaths and missing persons at sea. On this point too, the downward trend is consolidating, and this makes us particularly proud because it is proof of what we have always maintained: the only way to prevent further tragedies at sea is to stop the departures and fight the unscrupulous traffickers. We were right about this too, and the Left wrong, and we have proved it.
In a few weeks the Protocol with Albania will also be ready, and we should be very careful and scrupulous about this project because the eyes of the world are on us. Everyone understands that this initiative can completely change the way irregular immigration is governed. We understand this and so do the professionals of unregulated immigration, who will do anything to put a spoke in the wheels of this initiative’.
The coherence of Fratelli d’Italia in Europe and the Union’s shift to the right
“Even in Europe we have maintained our coherence and asserted our ideas and positions. Fratelli d’Italia did it, the European Conservatives did it, the European family that better than anyone else has been able to represent a critical view of the European Union, but with a constructive and not destructive will. Joining the Conservative family six years ago is a choice that has proved to be far-sighted.
The shift of the European political axis to the right, though not enough to allow for a majority of only ‘centre-right’ forces in the European Parliament, has put the Conservatives and in particular FdI in a position to play the role of hinge between the Populars and the groups to our right, to move European policies towards greater pragmatism on so many issues central to our future. Our weight has also been considerably reinforced, managing to keep FdI and ECR out of the sad practice of the cordon sanitaire that marginalises the groups on our right. Carlo Fidanza led the largest Italian delegation and the third largest ECR delegation in the entire European Parliament. Nicola Procaccini was reconfirmed as co-chairman of the ECR Group along with a Polish colleague from the PIS.
Antonella Sberna was elected Vice-President of the European Parliament, the first in the history of our party, and we have significantly increased the number of our vice-presidents and Commission group leaders.
Between June and July we experienced the watershed of the appointment of the EU’s top posts. As you know, I expressed my misgivings in the European Council about the decision to preserve the status quo as if the citizens of Europe had not voted. And then, in the parliamentary passage, our delegation reaffirmed our consistency by voting against the reappointment of Ursula von der Leyen as head of the European Commission. More than for von der Leyen but for the rainbow majority that was supporting her. Voting for a political programme unbalanced to the left with the opening to the Greens would have meant betraying the mandate received from the Italians.
Italy is not isolated and the appointment of Fitto as Commissioner is a guarantee of this: he is the right person
“A concept that is totally alien to all those who have been criticising us since that day for having ‘isolated Italy in Europe’: a narrative that I count on disproving not only by continuing to collaborate fruitfully with Ursula von der Leyen on the most important dossiers for Italy, but also by managing to obtain for our Commissioner-designate, Raffaele Fitto, a role and a portfolio commensurate with the weight of our nation. It would be confirmation that we are right when we say that Europe should give Italy its due for the role it has, not for how it votes. And that you are respected if you are credible, not if you are compliant.
Raffaele Fitto now has an extremely complex and at the same time exciting task ahead of him, and I ask the Commission to wish him good luck! And you know how painful a choice it was for me to nominate Raffaele as a candidate for European Commissioner, and I believe it is for him too, but it is a necessary choice. Italy must be represented in the best possible way, and I am convinced that Raffaele is the right person’.
Fratelli d’Italia backbone of the executive, we need to communicate more to citizens
“In short, so much has been done and so much remains to be done. I think, for example, that we need to give an extra signal on the issue of security. But I also think that we should tell the citizens more and more about the results of our work, because trivially no one else will. And I would like to thank each and every one of you for animating the national campaign that touched the beaches and holiday spots of Italians this summer, organising over 270 initiatives throughout the country. While the PD was launching the ‘militant summer’ in September, we had already done it, really.
In the season that has just opened, Fratelli d’Italia will have to continue to play its decisive role as the backbone of the government majority. And I believe that the best way to do this job is in two ways. The first: to communicate more and more and better to the citizens what we do, because we do more than we communicate; the second: to be more and more of a goad to the executive, through the work of parliamentarians and the party, organised into departments’.
Keeping our feet on the ground, open to the best of our country
“In an era in which consensus is based on communication, slogans and the strength of the leader, the great temptation for many is to give up having a ‘heavy’ party and to regard the party structure as something cumbersome, costly and a harbinger of problems. We have made another choice, and we claim it. We are a party that has kept its feet on the ground, that has not shut itself away in the palace and that is among the people every day.
Last year we started the congress season and renewed the provincial leadership. Some united, some confrontational, but all were held in an atmosphere of great civility and internal cohesion. This year I propose to hold municipal and town council congresses, so as to further strengthen the party in the territory and avert the risk of leaders feeling irremovable and tending to close themselves off to defend personal rents instead of merit.
Fratelli d’Italia must increasingly be a party open to the best of our nation. A political force open to those who share our worldview and who can and want to add value. The last elections have confirmed that challenges at the local level are won with good candidates and strong, competitive lists. The opinion vote and consensus at national level are not enough to automatically win local and regional elections’.
Regionals, future challenges to be prepared for
‘Three regions will soon return to the vote and Fratelli d’Italia will have to play a leading role and overturn the predictions. Emilia-Romagna is not exactly a stronghold of the centre-right, let’s say, and we have chosen to support Elena Ugolini, a capable woman, not a member of any party, who has chosen to stand as a candidate with courage and determination. Not an easy challenge, but many energies from outside the traditional centre-right have gathered around her.
In Umbria, we are aiming to confirm the government of Donatella Tesei and the centre-right, but we have to take into account the results of the last administrative elections in Perugia and Terni.
In Liguria, the situation is more complex. After the excellent work of relaunching the Region carried out by the centre-right, we are identifying a candidate capable of giving continuity to the Region’s growth. And I am very confident that we will get there soon. In 2025 we will have other elections and important regions – Marche, Veneto, Campania, Puglia and Tuscany – will go to the vote.
We have to be ready.
