Italy’s Meloni slams energy policy as campaign heats up

By TRISHA THOMAS and FRANCES D’EMILIO
Associated Press

ANCONA, Italy (AP) — Italian far-right leader Giorgia Meloni has led her first election campaign rally in the Adriactic port city of Ancona. Meloni slammed the European Union energy’s strategy. She said Tuesday that families and businesses are being “brought to their knees” by soaring prices. Meloni has been leading for weeks in opinion polls. She used Tuesday evening’s rally to hammer away at long-running themes for her Brothers of Italy party. Meloni is a longtime foe of EU bureaucracy. She contended that Brussels-based officials failed to craft a “serious” energy strategy that would ensure EU member countries like Italy had sufficient supplies. Meloni also stressed her hard line against migrants entering Italy illegally on traffickers boats.