Giorgia Meloni's silence over the far-right's victory in the Austrian elections stands out even more than the clash between Antonio Tajani and Matteo Salvini. She is the leader of a party which has been close to Herbert Kickl’s FPO for a long time, as a number of past investigations have shown; and she is the prime minister of a NATO ally. While she wasn’t required to issue a statement, it was logical to expect one. But she hasn’t said anything, nor will she.

It’s a thorny issue: Kickl's party represents everything the Italian premier wants to distance herself from, a dark mirror of a past to be forgotten, of shadows to be chased away. Moreover, the People’s Party, now the main allies and quasi-protectors of the Italian underdog, have chosen the cordon sanitaire approach. It would not be appropriate for Meloni to break out the champagne for a party that the People’s Party have declared off limits.

Accordingly, Meloni has chosen not to comment. “It would not be appropriate on the part of a head of government,” was the justification from her office, glossing over the fact that the “head of government” had no hesitation to........

© Il Manifesto Global