- Arsenal down Man Utd to take Premier League title race to the wire
- Protesting students walk out on Seinfeld graduation speech
- 'Live a bit more': Kharkiv region residents flee Russian attacks
- Rivers rise again as rain batters flood-hit south Brazil
- Latest 'Planet of Apes' episode swings to top of N.America box office
- Bengaluru win five in row to keep IPL play-off hopes alive
- Georgia warns protesters of arrests if they block parliament
- Thousands evacuated as Russia advances in Ukraine's Kharkiv region
- Arsenal grind out Man Utd win to go top of the Premier League
- Kane-less Bayern beat Wolfsburg to go second
- Amazon plans to invest 1.2 bn euros in France: Macron's office
- N. Macedonia president stokes controversy at inauguration
- 'History makers' Man Utd crush Spurs to lift Women's FA Cup for first time
- Legendary B-movie producer Roger Corman dies
- Prince Harry, Meghan end Nigeria tour with Lagos visit
- Greek PM to visit Turkey in quest for better relations
- Visma's Kooij wins Giro stage on Napoli seafront
- Prince Harry, Meghan finish Nigeria tour in Lagos
- 'Concerned' Djokovic to undergo scans as shock Rome exit follows bottle drama
- Djokovic suffers shock third-round exit at Rome Open
- Ogier clinches record sixth Rally of Portugal win
- Chennai beat Rajasthan to boost IPL play-off hopes
- French Miss Africa contests proudly celebrate dual cultures in Paris
- 'God, have mercy!': Survivors recount horror of Indonesia flood
- Rafah residents flee 'hell' of Israeli onslaught
- Martin wins thrilling French MotoGP to complete 'perfect weekend'
- Hungry Madrid parade league title with eye on European glory
- Martin stays strong to win thrilling French MotoGP
- Sabalenka reaches Rome last 16, Djokovic returns after bottle drama
- Nepali, British climbers extend Everest records
- Fighting rages across Gaza as death toll tops 35,000
- At least 34 killed in Indonesia floods, 16 missing
- Ex-bike champ Rossi relishes 'honour' of taking on Le Mans on four wheels
- Spain PM's Socialists eye power grab as Catalonia votes
- 34 dead in Indonesia floods, 16 missing
- Russia claims more advances in Ukraine's Kharkiv region
- Rescuers struggle to reach Afghanistan flood-hit areas
- Gender breakthrough in Swiss triumph at politically-charged Eurovision contest
- Fighting rages across Gaza as UN chief urges 'immediate ceasefire'
- Thousands evacuated as Russia pounds Ukraine border town
- Raza 72 not out guides Zimbabwe to consolation win over Bangladesh
- Masterful Lomachenko knocks out Kambosos to win IBF lightweight crown
- 'Worse than Covid': UK gig venues sing the Blues
- Nepal's 'Everest Man' claims record 29th summit
- Star duos lead Celtics, Mavs to NBA playoff victories
- Boeing's problems rattle US aviation regulator as well
- Indonesia school bus crash kills 11, dozens injured
- Suarez on target as Miami fight back in Montreal
- Cannes film fest returns with comebacks, strikes, Trump and MeToo
- Concern about Russia dominates as Lithuanians vote
Italian PM Meloni says will stand in EU elections
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Sunday she would stand in upcoming European Parliament elections, a move apparently calculated to boost her far-right party, although she would be forced to resign immediately.
Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, which has neo-Fascist roots, came top in Italy's 2022 general election with 26 percent of the vote.
It is polling at similar levels ahead of the European elections on from June 6-9.
With Meloni heading the list of candidates, Brothers of Italy could exploit its national popularity at the EU level, even though EU rules require that any winner already holding a ministerial position must immediately resign from the EU assembly.
"We want to do in Europe exactly what we did in Italy on September 25, 2022 -- creating a majority that brings together the forces of the right to finally send the left into opposition, even in Europe!" Meloni told a party event in the Adriatic city of Pescara.
In a fiery, sweeping speech touching briefly on issues from surrogacy and Ramadan to artificial meat, Meloni extolled her coalition government's one-and-a-half years in power and what she said were its efforts to combat illegal immigration, protect families and defend Christian values.
After speaking for more than an hour in the combative tone reminiscent of her election campaigns, Meloni said she had decided to run for a seat in the European Parliament.
"I'm doing it because I want to ask Italians if they are satisfied with the work we are doing in Italy and that we're doing in Europe," she said, suggesting that only she could unite Europe's conservatives.
"I'm doing it because in addition to being president of Brothers of Italy I'm also the leader of the European conservatives who want to have a decisive role in changing the course of European politics," she added.
The move by Meloni, while allowed under EU regulations, is "a pragmatic, shameless electoral calculation", said Wolfango Piccoli, head of research at Teneo Intelligence.
"The feeling is she will carry her weight to gain more votes," he said, adding that polls suggest that Meloni's name at the top of the list could improve Brothers of Italy's showing by two to three percent.
- Voters unaware -
Daniele Albertazzi, a professor of politics at the University of Surrey, said Italy's leaders "often do this just to get more votes, that's all there is to it."
"They almost never take up a seat in the European Parliament, they wouldn't want to leave national politics. But many have done this before."
EU rules require checks that newly elected MEPs do not hold other offices deemed "incompatible" with their role, such as being a government minister.
If they do, they must step down and appoint a replacement.
"Most voters are unaware or they don't care," Piccoli said.
"It's about voting for the person regardless of whether she can keep the job or not."
The tactic was used in 2019 by Meloni's deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini, who leads the far-right Lega party.
The EU Parliament elections do not provide for alliances within Italy's parties, meaning that Brothers of Italy will be in direct competition with its coalition partners Lega and Forza Italia, founded by Silvio Berlusconi.
The Lega and Forza Italia are polling well below Meloni's party, at about seven percent and eight percent, respectively.
In her rise to power, Meloni often railed against the European Union, "LGBT lobbies" and what she has called the politically correct rhetoric of the left, appealing to many voters with her straight talk.
"I am Giorgia, I am a woman, I am a mother, I am Italian, I am a Christian," she famously declared at a 2019 rally.
She used a similar tone Sunday, instructing voters to simply write "Giorgia" on their ballots.
"I have always been, I am, and will always be proud of being an ordinary person," she shouted.
R.Adler--BTB