Italy and the BRI

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67634959

There is an evident reciprocity taking place between Italy's Right-wing coalition government and Brussels. On the one hand, Brussels is moving in the direction of Meloni when it comes to her government's posture toward immigration. Under the guise of the humanitarian concern and anti-smuggling measures, the EU is doing all it can to curb immigration – even to the point of arming and paying North African regimes. We're seeing the same thing in North America with US attempts to curtail immigration in Central America, long before the migrants actually reach the border region.

And so while von der Leyen will stand with Meloni in the rollout of immigration policy – effectively endorsing her FdI agenda, at the same time Meloni has formalized the Italian government's rejection of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a move certain to please not only the Brussels leadership but Washington as well.

Initially there were fears in both Washington and Brussels that a Meloni government would turn away from Atlanticism and NATO – and with good reason as one considers the rhetoric and policies of her coalition partner Matteo Salvini – as well as other Right-wing populist figures like Viktor Orban in Hungary.

And yet, Meloni has 'played ball' as they say and consequently her views and agenda are more or less being tolerated if not embraced.

It's almost as if someone is trying to steer the larger EU agenda by means of a Hegelian dynamic. Is this really the case? Some think so and I certainly wouldn't think it impossible. Can it proven? Apart from some kind of smoking gun in the form of audio or documents – no. As such, it's unlikely, but we see these dynamics at work over and over again – whether with the RN/FN in France, the AfD in Germany, or even UKIP in the UK. What is deemed 'extreme', later (by means of this conservative/Right-wing dynamic) becomes mainstream. And the dynamic is also at work between the Left/Right divide – with liberal parties continually tracking Right on key economic and security issues.

See also:

https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-italian-debate-over-bri.html

 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66836614