"In 2011 in Italy we suffered one of the most violent attacks on democracy that has ever occurred in the West: a legitimate government, which had been elected by the people and which opposed the crazy policies of the European Union, was overthrown by a conspiracy prepared by financial powers of Brussels and some European diplomatic circles. From the perspective of the Brothers of Italy, the real danger for Italy is not a phantom of the Russian interference in the electoral processes, but rather the attempt of the technocratic elite to destroy our national sovereignty," President of the right-wing Brothers of Italy party, Giorgia Meloni said.
Italy's right-wing Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d'Italia) party will review the nation's foreign policy concerning Russia in order to ensure strong bilateral economic and security relations if it becomes a part of the future Italian government.
"The objective of the Brothers of Italy in the government will be to redefine the Italian foreign policy, with a reconstruction of a strong relationship with Russia in terms of economic and security partnerships being among the priorities. I do not think at all that Russia is an enemy of Europe or of the West. On the contrary, I believe that Moscow can play a fundamental role as a balancing power in the world and as a connection [of the West] with the geopolitical area called Eurasia," Giorgia Meloni said.
On Sunday, Italians will go to the polls to choose the composition of their country's new parliament. In the previous parliament, the Brothers of Italy had 12 spots in the 630-seat lower chamber and three spots in the 315-seat upper chamber.
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In 2011, then Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi had to resign after failing to prevent an EU-demanded package of measures aimed at recovering Italy from its debt crisis from being adopted in the lower house of parliament. Berlusconi's cabinet was then replaced by a technocrat government of Mario Monti, a former member of the European Commission.
Russia has faced numerous accusations of interference in foreign elections, including the 2016 US presidential vote. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has called the claims groundless, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has stressed that there was no evidence to substantiate the accusations.
