Right-wing parties in Italy are embarking on far-reaching cooperation plans for the 2023 elections.

 

Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, 84, leader of the conservative Forza party, said on Monday that Matteo Salvini of the far-right League had shown willingness to merge.

Both parties are part of Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s broad coalition government. According to former Interior Minister Salvini, a merger of the parties means that work can be done more efficiently and faster, which would also benefit Draghi.

Sources within Lega emphasized two weeks ago that a possible merger would not mean incorporation by the larger Forza but a joining of forces.

Giorgia Meloni, the leader of the far-right Fratelli d’Italia, is not welcome and does not want to. These three parties together account for 47 percent of the vote, according to a poll.