EU ‘oligarchy’ betrayed voters with appointment of top jobs, says Meloni

Giorgia Meloni accused European leaders of acting like “an oligarchy” by stitching together backroom deals to divvy up the EU’s top jobs. 

Addressing parliament in Rome, the Italian prime minister accused the EU establishment of continuing to act as if the political landscape had not changed after the European elections, held in early June, which saw a big swing to the Right.

“The European ruling classes (are) tempted to sweep the dust under the carpet, as if nothing had happened,” said Ms Meloni, responding to a deal reportedly reached on Tuesday by the leaders of six EU nations to put forward Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission president for a second time, appoint Antonio Costa, the Portuguese former socialist prime minister, as the president of the European Council and make Kaja Kallas, the Estonian prime minister, the EU foreign policy chief.

Rather than cooking up cosy “fireside deals” to apportion the top jobs to establishment figures, leaders should have better reflected the will of voters, Ms Meloni said.

She criticised “those who argue that citizens are not mature enough to make certain decisions, and (believe) that oligarchy is basically the only acceptable form of democracy. I am not of this opinion. I have fought this surreal principle in Italy and I intend to fight it in Europe too,” she told MPs.

‘Fragile majority’ decided top jobs

The decision on who should be awarded the top jobs had been made by “a fragile majority” within the European Parliament, Ms Meloni said.

The consultations took place between six national leaders, including France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Olaf Scholz, who represent the three main blocs in the European Parliament: the centre-Right European People’s Party (EPP) and its partners, the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and the centrist group Renew Europe.