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“Brothers of Italy” against Putin. Ukraine and Italian politicians

“There are two points of view. One is mine: Ukraine must defend itself, international sanctions and arms support to Kyiv serve this purpose. The other point of view is: Ukraine cannot defend itself, sanctions are useless, Russia is too strong, let Ukraine submit.”

The dry and pragmatic Prime Minister of Italy Mario Dragi, a former banker and head of the European Central Bank, rarely speaks so harshly. But last Wednesday, speaking in the Italian parliament, the prime minister was very emotional in defending his cabinet’s policy regarding the war in Ukraine. He achieved the support of the majority: 410 parliamentarians voted in favor of a resolution expressing solidarity with the policies of the cabinet, only 29 voted against. However, the result of discussions about the war was a split in the still largest party in the ruling coalition in Italy – the 5 Star Movement.

Foreign Secretary Luigi Di Mayo, the former leader of this populist movement, announced that he would create his own deputy group, and in the future, perhaps, a party called “Together for the Future.” The speech of Di Maio, in the recent past rising (he is only 35 years old), but recently a somewhat faded star of Italian politics, was caused by his conflict with the current leader of the 5 Star Movement, ex-premier Giuseppe Conte. He opposes the supply of Italian weapons to Ukraine, believing that this hinders the diplomatic resolution of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Conte is not alone in his skepticism: according to a survey commissioned by the Italian television RAI 1 at the end of May, about 45% of Italians adhere to the same position. Di Maio, however, believes that supporting Ukraine means “being on the right side of history.”

The Italian Ministry of Defense does not disclose the details of military supplies to Kyiv. Nevertheless, there were reports in the media that Ukraine will receive from Italy 155mm FH-70 howitzers, Stinger man-portable missile systems, anti-tank missiles, machine guns and a large amount of ammunition. Some observers link the intensification of military aid to the results of Mario Draghi’s visit to Kyiv, where he recently visited with the leaders of Germany, France and Romania. Contrary to skeptical expectations, caused primarily by “peacekeeping” statements French President Emmanuel Macron on the eve of the trip, all four distinguished guests expressed unequivocal support for the Ukrainian leadership and promised to help Kyiv as much as possible in repelling Russian aggression.

Supporting Ukraine means being on the right side of history

The Italian prime minister, however, did not say anything to the deputies about the timing and volume of new arms supplies to Ukraine. On the other hand, he spoke about the need to reduce the import of Russian gas, which now accounts for 40% of Italy’s total consumption of this raw material. Mario Draghi is one of the most popular heads of government in Italy in recent years, and the split in the “5 Star Movement” does not worry him too much so far: both Di Maio’s supporters and Conte’s supporters have expressed their support for him. But in September, after the holidays, the ruling coalition may leave the League – the party of the national populist Matteo Salviniwhich is now experiencing a popularity crisis: at the best of times, its ratings were close to 30%, but now they are frozen at about 15%.

Popularity of political parties in Italy:

And in this case, the Russian-Ukrainian war was not without its political factor. Five years ago, Salvini was known as a big fan of Vladimir Putin, whom he met during one of his visits to Moscow. But gradually the pro-Russian sentiments of the League and its leader began to decline, and after the February invasion of Russia in Ukraine, Salvini began to criticize the Kremlin altogether. True, later he made another maneuver and wanted to go to Moscow with some kind of peacekeeping mission, but nothing came of it.

This inconsistency cost the League dearly: its voters began to leave for another rapidly gaining momentum nationalist party – the Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d’Italia – FdI). Its leader, 45 George Meloni, ex-minister of sports in one of the governments of Silvio Berlusconi, does not hide her desire to become the first woman prime minister in Italian history. Now the ratings of the “Brothers” – at the level of 23%, together with the center-left Democratic Party, it is the most popular political force in the country.

Speech by Giorgi Meloni in Madrid at a rally of the Spanish National Populist Party VOX:

One of the founders of FDI Guido Crochet praises Meloni for “constancy, reliability and thoroughness. She does not fluctuate depending on the results of public opinion polls.” While Matteo Salvini has long associated Italian right-wing populists with a pro-Kremlin stance, George Meloni, on the other hand, is unequivocally in favor of Ukraine, and her faction in parliament votes for military supplies to Kyiv. Among the party’s most prominent politicians is Senator Adolfo Ursoknown for fighting Kremlin propaganda and fakes spread by it in the Italian media and social networks.

There are quite a lot of people in Italy who are critical of NATO and sympathetic to Russian policy

“There are quite a lot of people in Italy who are critical of NATO and sympathetic to Russian policy, – notes specialist in Italian politics, professor at the British University of Surrey Daniele Albertazzi. “However, Meloni decided to look to the future and send [избирателям] a clear signal.” At the same time, back in March 2018, she congratulated Vladimir Putin on his victory in the presidential election, calling it an expression of “the unequivocal will of the people”:

FdI, whose roots go back to the post-war neo-fascist Italian social movement (the “Brothers” logo is very similar to the emblem of this party, whose youth faction George Meloni joined at the age of 16) remains a right-wing radical force in many of its program provisions. Meloni likes to propagate conservative values, speaks with distaste of the so-called “LGBT lobby”, defends a tough migration policy, criticizes the Brussels bureaucracy, advocates tax cuts and support for small businesses. This ideological cocktail brings her popularity.

According to political analysts, against this background, supporting Ukraine is a way to create a respectable image for oneself, since the pro-Kremlin card has been beaten in the current Italian politics. According to Daniele Albertazzi, “the attitude towards the European Union, NATO, the United States and Russia are strategic issues on which there were no big differences between the various governments of Italy, no matter who led them – right, left or technocrats. Getting into the government or counting on it , Italian politicians are coming to the conclusion that a close relationship with the United States and a constructive partnership within NATO and the EU is fully in line with Italy’s national interests.”

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