After the National Council elections, which were unsatisfactory for the ÖVP, Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) took a break from domestic politics this weekend and made a short trip to Rome. There he also met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. He posted a photo of the joint dinner on Instagram and highlighted the Austrian-Italian axis in the fight against illegal migration.
“Meloni and I are friends now,” the ÖVP boss enthused on Instagram.
Chancellor appreciates Meloni’s ‘stamina’
And added: “I appreciate their assertiveness and consistency in the fight against illegal migration and for robust protection of the EU’s external borders.”
“Pulling in the same direction”
Austria and Italy would be “moving in the same direction,” the Chancellor continued. “We are both happy that Austria will also provide the migration commissioner in the future; the fight against illegal migration is one of the future issues of the European Union.”
As is known, Magnus Brunner is responsible for migration and home affairs at the European Commission.
Since the 2019 EU elections, Meloni’s right-wing populist party Fratelli d’Italia has belonged to the right-conservative group ‘European Conservatives and Reformists’ (ECR), which with 83 MPs is the third strongest force in the EU Parliament, behind the conservative EPP (which also includes the ÖVP) and the Social Democrats.
Meloni is politically closer to Nehammer than FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl, who is more likely to seek proximity to Matteo Salvini and his Lega in Italy. Meloni rejected the EU parliamentary group ‘Patriots for Europe’, which was newly created by Kickl in June.
Nehammer on Monday at VdB, conversation with Babler on Tuesday
The coming week will be exciting again for Nehammer in the field of domestic politics. A meeting with SPÖ leader Andreas Babler is scheduled for Tuesday. Both party leaders were invited on Monday for a meeting with Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen.
Both the ÖVP and the SPÖ had always emphasized that they did not want to form a government with the FPÖ under Kickl. However, the ÖVP and SPÖ only have a wafer-thin majority in the National Council. For this reason, a third coalition partner, namely NEOS or the Greens, would be advantageous.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
