Putin’s war in the Italian electoral campaign
Putin and beyond. What happens and what is said in the election campaign. Paola Sacchi's note
Putin's threats become the central topic of the election campaign in its final stages.
The scheme is always the same: Carlo Calenda's Democratic Party and the “Third Pole” immediately attack the center-right, which however reacts compactly against the new serious offensive by the Russian president. But in an electoral campaign practically all played by the left and partly by Calenda – with different tones of the third-party ally Matteo Renzi – on the alarm risk of democracy in the event of a victory by the center-right, Enrico Letta returns to the office on the "ambiguity" of his opponents. But, in the meantime, those who voted against the measures to support Ukraine, including the dispatch of weapons, and the enlargement of NATO, are allies, albeit only "electoral", of the Democratic Party. That is, the Italian Left by Nicola Fratoianni.
The center-right, which instead has always voted for those measures, speaks through Giorgia Meloni who defines Putin's threats a "reaction of weakness". Faced with which, however, the president of FdI warns, it is necessary to remain “vigilant and compact”.
Matteo Salvini reiterates his condemnation of Putin's war and that his judgment has changed on him after the aggression against Ukraine, "whoever unleashes war is always wrong". But the Northern League leader, always at the center of the attacks by the left, also remembers "the 28 contracts made by Letta with Putin, smiles and handshakes" and insists that there is a European system to support countries, such as Italy , which are most affected by the repercussions of the sanctions.
Silvio Berlusconi, in an interview with the Agi agency, warns of the need for compactness with the Euro-Atlantic allies. Emphasize that the line remains that of Mario Draghi. Stefania Craxi (FI) president of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee recalls that "the only ones to have derailed were the governments of Giuseppe Conte". The blue leader, therefore, relaunches his role and that of Forza Italia as "guarantor of Europeanism and Atlanticism" of the center-right government. The former premier urges not to "disperse the vote, giving it to small parties" and reiterates that "the useful vote of the moderates is for FI".
It is the response to the "third pole" offensive, where Calenda also speculates that he has overtaken the League. The Cav on the expensive bills again has a mediating position between Meloni, who continues to say he is opposed to the budget variance, and Salvini who instead continues to press for 30 billion to be immediately put on the table. Berlusconi, alarmed by the employment and economic cost that the emergency risks causing, reiterates that it would be better not to go to the deviation but also opens up the possibility of running a deficit by agreeing with the EU.
Tonight in Rome, in Piazza del Popolo, all three leaders of the center right on stage. With them Maurizio Lupi of "Noi moderati". It will be the only joint initiative of the coalition given as winner by the polls. Then, the last three-pointed stretch. Each will close the electoral campaign in different squares.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/minacce-putin-campagna-elettorale/ on Thu, 22 Sep 2022 05:54:22 +0000.