The left is also swerving over Tunisia
The left criticizes Meloni's meeting with Saied but does not speak of the risk that in Tunisia is in first place when it comes to democracy: that of Islamic radicalism, against which the Tunisian Republic still constitutes a fundamental bulwark. Paola Sacchi's note
Look at the finger and not the half moon. That is, the symbol of the Tunisian flag. Attacks and criticisms from an increasingly divided left internally and from its media to the important visit of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to Tunisia due to the fact that there was no press conference, due to the modality of his declaration without journalists in front, at the Presidential Palace of Carthage, after the long conversation with the Tunisian president Kais Saied , they sound like a provincial opposition dispute regardless. Also from the drama of Tunisia. A collapsing country, at risk of default, with inevitable repercussions on nearby Italy, starting with the phenomenon of landings, which are already assuming the dimensions of an exodus.
Deputy secretary Beppe Provenzano accused Meloni of having met "an autocrat". Some mainstream newspapers list the number of arrests and censures of freedom of information. Certainly of a problem of "growth of democracy" Meloni spoke from the same building in Carthage. Where the premier discussed with Saied that loan from the IMF which is decisive for the desperate situation of the North African country and anchored to a plan of reforms which also include democratic growth. But nowhere do our domestic detractors speak of that risk which in Tunisia is in first place when it comes to democracy: that of Islamic radicalism, against which the Tunisian Republic still constitutes a fundamental bulwark.
Tunisia has always been a decisive piece of the Mediterranean towards which the policies of dialogue and aid of our country have historically been directed with Bettino Craxi, Giulio Andreotti, Silvio Berlusconi. Today Meloni, in a much more dramatic situation, which has experienced delays on the part of other left-wing governments in the Euro-Italian-Mediterranean dialogue, in the context of the "Mattei Plan" for Africa, for Tunisia is asking for support from the EU on immigration control, now explosive, starting with the fight against traffickers.
But the issue, says the prime minister, "cannot be addressed only on a security level". We need that aid plan for Africa which also affirms "the right not to immigrate". Meloni, who also recalled the hundreds of Italian companies operating in Tunisia, and the government will mediate with the IMF and its stringent reform plan for loan disbursement. Antonio Tajani, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, already visiting Tunis in recent months, will meet Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the director of the IMF in Washington. Tajani himself has repeatedly reminded our domestic detractors of the danger of Islamic radicalism with which Tunisia and the Saied presidency are dealing.
Stefania Craxi, president of the Senate Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, underlines the importance of Meloni's visit: “It testifies to the strong bond that unites Italy to the North African reality. We have always been close to the Tunisian people, we support the country's economic growth and social progress, also in the awareness that prosperity and development are the key to better addressing the complex common challenges". And on democracy Craxi observes: "At the same time, we are certain that President Kais Saied will be able and willing to keep the bar of democratic values straight".
Yesterday evening on Tg4 the editorialist of the newspaper La Verità and Mediaset commentator, Daniele Capezzone, in contrast with a certain mainstream, was clear: “I see too many people around the world taking blood tests in Tunisia. It is a country that is about to explode: an economic disaster for them, a migratory disaster for us, a cultural disaster because the radical Islamists will win". And perhaps one day, having overcome the serious emergency, we will also have to take stock of the "Arab spring" and the Tunisian situation which has fallen so dramatically, albeit in a profoundly changed international scenario with Russia's aggression against Ukraine.
And, in the meantime, after our premier's trip, something is moving in Tunisia. Next Sunday the president of the EU commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte and Meloni herself will be on a mission to Tunis.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/sinistra-tunisia-visita-giorgia-meloni/ on Thu, 08 Jun 2023 04:23:34 +0000.