Corriere della Sera, the main Italian newspaper, highlighted an interview with the president of the trade federation before the election, warning that “120,000 small and medium-sized companies are at risk of closing” by the beginning of next year – due to the costs of energy, “much higher in Italy than in Germany”.
But who ended up taking over the Italian coverage over the weekend was the president of the European Commission, the German Ursula von der Leyen, with a threat, speaking at Princeton University, in the USA: “We will see the result of the vote in Italy, there was also elections in Sweden. If things go in a difficult direction, we have tools.”
It caused protests, as expected, including in the street. And even Giorgia Meloni, who had been holding back with a light campaign, reacted, echoing the German FAZ: “I would advise you to exercise caution, in terms of credibility, as a commissioner and as a European Commission.” She confirmed her favoritism Sunday night, with headlines like “Meloni’s Success” in La Stampa.
The fear for the result is not restricted to the European Union. The New York Times focused on the “roots of fascism”, as it did with the new Swedish government. But he noted that Meloni “used to admire Putin’s defense of Christian values, but now calls him an aggressor.” More importantly, it “apparently dismissed the US’s deep distrust.”
In Germany, the Süddeutsche Zeitung, considered close to Prime Minister Olaf Scholz, stressed that “Europe needs Italy, but above all Italy needs Europe”, which will not change with Meloni, “fortunately”. What could change is the way of approaching the energy crisis, with or without Europe.
Scholz also closed on Sunday a tour looking for gas, through the dictatorships of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. “Not exactly the best partners,” admitted the Süddeutsche home, “but what’s the point of being wrong: Germany will be dependent on fossil fuels for a long time to come.”
The American Bloomberg got to the point, something that German vehicles cannot: “Germany guarantees only one gas tanker during Gulf excursion”. It should be delivered by the turn of the year, at the best of times — and the equivalent of less than a day’s worth of Russian gas flow through Nord Stream 1 at the start of the war.
SINCE NOW, PRESSURE ON LULA
With the possibility of the former president winning in the first round, the pressure for this or that priority began, among others, in the Financial Times. Saying that “Brazilians have to decide between Bolsonaro’s free-market government and the interventionist Lula”, he extends positively on the “pro-business agenda of Paulo Guedes”.
He praises privatizations and criticizes Brazilian journalism, whose “media often ignores these issues, as it is a government that generates controversy”.
About the meeting between the US diplomatic representative and Lula, days ago, CNN Brasil reiterated that “the right thing was that it should only take place after the end of the elections, but as the polls began to point to the real possibility of ending up in the first round, the sides judged that it would be better if it happened sooner”. On the American agenda, China.
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