One of Italy’s top political leaders, part of the coalition with the best chance of winning the Sept. Ukraine. In his view, the objectives were not achieved and the effects on the economy harm companies and families.
The speeches, in addition to echoing Moscow’s arguments, clash both with the speech of the European front, which strives to appear and maintain unity around the measures, and of its most important ally in the electoral dispute, Giorgia Meloni. The Brothers of Italy leader has repeated that she will maintain Mario Draghi’s foreign policy – ​​pro-Ukraine and pro-sanctions – if she becomes prime minister.
“Europe imposed sanctions. It should have stopped the war, it didn’t. [Vladimir] Putin on his knees, we are not making it. On their knees are millions of workers in Italy and Europe,” Salvini said on Tuesday (6).
On Sunday, at an event for businessmen, he devoted almost all of the ten minutes of his presentation to rejecting measures against Russia. “Do we want to go ahead with the sanctions? Okay. Do we want to protect Ukraine? Yes. But I wouldn’t want it if, instead of harming the sanctioned, we harmed ourselves,” he said. “They accuse me of being Putin’s envoy, but I defend the Italian interest.”
The statements call attention to the fact that, between one speech and another, Russia has interrupted, this Monday (5), the supply to Europe through the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, with the affirmation that the decision will not be reversed until the sanctions are knocked down.
According to the Kremlin, the suspension is due to technical problems caused by the sanctions, which would have made maintenance difficult. EU officials rejected the justification and accused Moscow of using the gas as a blackmail weapon. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, announced that a response is being prepared, with aid, reduced consumption and a cap on gas prices.
Applied since February, European sanctions restrict Russian imports, such as oil and fertilizers, prevent access to ports and airports and exclude large banks from the international system. They also individually reach the government and business leaders. At the same time that they affect the country’s economy, they have effects on those who apply them, such as rising food and energy prices. In August, eurozone inflation hit a record 9.1%.
With the cost of living at the center of the election campaign in Italy, Salvini argues that sanctions need to be reviewed. His position, however, attracts suspicion at home and abroad, given the rightist’s ties to Moscow, past and recent. In March, days after the start of the war, Salvini secretly met the Russian ambassador to Italy, as the Italian newspaper Domani revealed months later.
“I think it is very serious that, at the same time, Putin and Salvini are against European sanctions. It is a disturbing consonance”, said Enrico Letta, leader of the Democratic Party, of the center-left ticket that is more than 15 points behind. of the right-wing coalition in the polls. “Putin is trying to influence the election campaign and we must react together, Europe and Italy.”
In an attempt to circumvent suspicions about her own Eurosceptic positions, Giorgia Meloni has distanced herself from Salvini on foreign policy issues, with the promise of maintaining Draghi’s line, which brought Italy closer to the Franco-German axis. At the same event in which Salvini participated on Sunday, she reaffirmed her intention to remain united with the European bloc.
“If Italy moves away from its allies, it doesn’t change anything for Ukraine, while it changes a lot for us. It’s a question of credibility,” said Meloni, who defends the adoption of a gas price cap, as proposed by the EU.
The disagreement between far-right allies over sanctions adds to differences in proposals against immigration and to contain the effects of the economic crisis. He is in favor of a 15% flat-rate tax and increased spending beyond the budget for a €30 billion aid package. “I don’t make promises I can’t keep,” Meloni said.
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