We will be the voice of the Christian Democrats - Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said yesterday, in connection with the fact that he met in Budapest and discussed a possible new EU parliamentary faction with Matteo Salvini, the leader of the Italian right-wing government party, the League, and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

Today's Italian newspapers commented on yesterday's event depending on party affiliation.
The center-right Il Foglio wrote that this is Salvini's first step away from Prime Minister Mario Draghi. He quotes the representative of the 5 Star movement, Segio Battelli, who says that Salvini is now in league with those who are hindering the restoration of the country.
(Note: Battelli presumably thinks that making friends with the Hungarians and Poles will cost Italy a lot more, because it is completely at the mercy of financial support from the Union - ed.).

Enrico Letta, who has been the general secretary of the Democratic Party (PD) since March, a former prime minister, and who was also the president of the Young European Christian Democrats from 1991 to 1995, said that "Europeanness has become a field of political confrontation . "

The conservative Il Tempo emphasized that transatlantic cooperation and European integration are among the priorities of the platform created jointly with Hungary and Italy. However, the latter cannot be realized by sacrificing sovereignty, family, and Christianity. He quoted the Hungarian Prime Minister, who said that Salvini should be considered a hero because he was able to stop immigration as a minister.

The left-wing La Repubblica claimed that the new faction created in the Union could face not only the EPP, but also the conservatives. The League is currently a member of the Identity and Democracy party family founded in 2019, which also includes the National Compact (RN) led by Marine Le Pen. At the same time, it seems that the Giorgia Meloni , which belongs to the European Conservatives and Reformers (ECR) representative group born in 2009, are also ready for cooperation. Giorgia Meloni was elected president of the ECR last September, and the Polish Law and Justice (PiS) is also a member of this party group. The newspaper states that, whatever happens, the dialogue between the "critical forces" and the mainstream in Brussels is always a positive thing, i.e. it can benefit the Union.

Linkiesta , which considers itself independent , believes that the politicians participating in the Budapest meeting want to create a counterweight to today's predominantly left-wing dominance. During the meeting, the parties avoided sensitive and divisive political topics, such as interests in Russia. According to the author of the article, the further meetings - in May in Warsaw and then in Rome - may reveal whether the Polish PiS will remain in the ECR. The same question applies to the Spanish VOX, which could strengthen the imagined faction of the three, but could weaken the ECR.