Italy’s Raffaele Fitto heads into showdown with MEPs

Keep your moccasins on and the espresso at the ready because things are about to get awfully Italian in Brussels.
Giorgia Meloni’s man, Raffaele Fitto, hits the auditorium to defend his expertise and diplomatic credentials while being considered for an executive vice president role overseeing some €400 billion in funding for poorer regions.
And things could get fiery. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has already let it be known she wants the distribution of these so-called cohesion funds — which apply to various sectors including transport and agriculture — to be subjected to conditionality, something that’s already upset everyone from Polish farmers to Greek laborers.
There could be Italian political drama too. Fitto hails from the right-wing Brothers of Italy party, which vocally opposed von der Leyen’s reappointment as president, a fact that enraged the pan-European Socialists and Democrats grouping. Many worry about the party’s fascist leanings, even though Fitto himself is considered a moderate. Whether party politics or Italian patriotism prevails will be the question on the day.
We’ll be bringing you all the live action below from 9 a.m. CET on Nov. 12.
P.S. If you want to follow more of the action from the hearings, our reporters will be bringing you blow-by-blow updates from all 26 commissioner interviews here.