Go to EU flags mediabank. File photoMOSCOW, 13 Sep. After the Sept. 25 elections, Italy could be the driving force behind the most significant shift in the EU, while soaring inflation due to anti-Russian sanctions has already brought tens of thousands of protesters to the streets of European cities, according to an American Thinker article by Samuel Piccoli. As a result of the crisis in Ukraine, the balance of power in the EU has begun to change — or has already changed, the author writes. Thus, the position of Budapest de facto paralyzed the Visegrad Group (Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic), while Warsaw and the Baltic countries are gradually entering into more structured relations with their northern neighbors like Sweden and Finland, putting the European Union, primarily France and Germany, » before the fact».
Forbes: without Russian gas, Europe will slide into the Middle AgesAs Piccoli recalls, earlier tens of thousands of Czechs took to the streets of Prague to protest the government and demand additional state assistance due to rising electricity costs, and in Leipzig, Saxony's most populous city with a population of half a million people, more than 70,000 citizens took to the streets to protest the ineffectiveness of government measures to overcome the crisis in the cost of living and combat soaring inflation. Meanwhile, in Italy, the time of general elections is approaching, which may well be won by a center-right coalition, which will further upset the balance forces in Europe, he believes. Thus, as part of the election campaign, the leader of the Northern League party, Matteo Salvini, said that the Western sanctions imposed on Russia not only did not work, but also harmed Italy, and suggested that the allies reconsider their approach. The leader of the center-right coalition, George Meloni, promised, in case of victory, to change the EU-approved national recovery plan for the country and send money to reduce electricity bills, after which Brussels hinted that changing the plan to compensate for bills is unacceptable. «In other words, Brussels' contradictions with George Meloni and Matteo Salvini are tantamount to the contradictions of their coalitions,» Piccoli points out. At the same time, in the eyes of the EU and the Italian establishment, the “main sin” of Meloni and Salvini is that they were and remain supporters of former US President Donald Trump, and also advocate traditional family values and gender roles, for Christianity and against the absence of borders. «But, fortunately, the positions of the electorate and the establishment diverge on many issues, and the center-left coalition is well aware that the next general elections in Italy promise a tough fight. And the upcoming heating season will be difficult for the EU,» he notes. In my opinion, the pragmatic approach of the coalition leaders is likely to become very popular throughout Europe. «Regardless of the will of the establishment, a landslide victory for the centre-right coalition in the September 25 elections could turn Italy into the driving force behind the most significant shift in the history of the Old World,» Piccoli concludes. Western countries are facing rising energy prices and a surge in inflation due to the imposition of sanctions against Moscow and the policy of abandoning Russian fuel. Against the backdrop of a rise in the price of fuel, primarily gas, the industry in Europe has largely lost its competitive advantages, which also affected other sectors of the economy. The United States and European countries also faced record inflation in decades.Read the full text of the article on the InoSMI website >>
Media: US fears that Europe will change its position on Russia
