Italy has defeated the extreme left and respects the rule of law, said Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Thursday in response to the assertion by Spanish Premier Pedro Sanchez that “the far right governs” in Rome.

“The extreme left governs in Spain. In Italy we have defeated it.

We respect the rule of law. Is it the same in Madrid?” said Tajani on X, formerly Twitter.

“The @EPP (European People’s Party) governs in Italy, the secessionists in Spain,” he added.

On Thursday Sanchez said in his first interview since returning to government that “In Italy the extreme right is in government: we have stopped it here”.

“We are witnessing the advance of reactionary governments that question fundamental elements such as the participation of women in political, economic and social life or that trivialise the climate emergency, which is one of the main problems facing humanity, not just Spain,” he told RTVE, referring also to the recent victory of the right in Argentina and in the Netherlands.

“We have therefore curbed this wave with the vote of the Spanish people at the ballot box,” concluded Sanchez.