by Federico Fubini
We counted a lot at a table with France and Germany, now we have reached an agreement with Athens, Cyprus and Malta. Maybe not the best choice
All disputes in Europe have an invisible border that should never be crossed. the brittle line that separates European and domestic politics: not seeing it leads – knowingly or unknowingly – to hurting the sensibilities in another country, only to gain legitimacy in one’s own country, to score at home, but in the Relationship with neighbors to cascade damage. When this limit is crossed, it becomes difficult to get out of the maze of misunderstandings and no one can win anymore. Unfortunately, this line between Italy and France has been trampled on several times in recent days. Matteo Salvini did it with his disdainful expression, which changed at the (alleged) news that Paris would welcome the Ocean Viking with 230 migrants on board; Giorgia Meloni did so with a statement that presented a landing of the ship in France as a fait accompli that the transalpine government had not confirmed; and French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna did so with threats of consequences for the government of Rome, which (like other French departures) seems utterly out of place.
Instead of getting caught up in this spiral, we in Italy could start by asking a few simple questions: Who are our allies in Europe? We have? Can we do without it? With whom to work on our essential goals in the energy crisis, in the budget, in industrial policy, in the coming recession and (also) with refugees? In a few weeks we went from photo to three on the train to Kyiv, when Mario Draghi convinced Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz to accept Ukraine’s candidacy for the European Union, for the consortium for migrants with Greece, Malta and Cyprus. We counted a lot at a table with France and Germany. We now boast an agreement with Athens (where the government has been weakened by its debts to other European countries and by the opposition’s espionage scandal), with Cyprus (Russian Money Center, Gazprombank’s third bank on the island) and with Malta. Does it suit us?
November 13, 2022 (Change November 13, 2022 | 21:31)
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