Valentina Bertoli April 29, 2022
“You can’t pronounce the word war either in Italy or in Russia”: Lucio Caracciolo, guest of Lilli Gruber’s daily talk show ‘Eight and a half’, used clear and direct words when the moderator asked her interlocutors to comment on the weight of public opinion has an impact on government budgets.
A peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine, which is struggling to end, is being discussed more and more frequently. According to the poll on the Piazzapulita, a Thursday evening show conducted by Corrado Formigli, 43.6 percent of Italians are against arms sales to Ukraine and 36 percent are in favour. This spontaneously raises the question: can the opinion of the citizens influence government decisions?
Massimo Giannini, director of La Stampa, expressed his point: “Many in the West want peace. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said explicitly that the Russians will not capitulate. We have reached the crucial point. We have to decide whether we really want to go to war or just help the country under attack”. The Pentagon spokesman said the Americans are already training Ukrainian soldiers on European soil. Giannini therefore declared, to clarify the importance of a sincere dialogue between governments and citizens: “Do we want to support the Ukrainian resistance or do we believe that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “can win with our arms? European governments need to be clear with public opinion. We say openly that we are at war. It’s pointless to use euphemisms”.
Caracciolo’s answer was not long in coming and was clear: “Obviously that’s not possible. We criticize the Russians for speaking of a special military operation, but we too use ambiguous jargon. The word war must not be used”.