In the centre-right, which has shown unity and compactness since the beginning of the legislature, the first cracks are starting to appear in view of the European elections. And the battleground that pits the leaders of Forza Italia against the League is now that of the European flag. The candidate imposed by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, Roberto Vannacci, had joked in an interview about the Brussels banner with the blue background and yellow stars. “What identity does it want to present? We don’t even have an animal to symbolize us. Russia has the bear, the USA has the eagle. And Europe?”.
A phrase that did not go unnoticed in the eyes of a convinced pro-European like Antonio Tajani who was president of the European Parliament. And so, the deputy prime minister, during an electoral event in Verbania, in Piedmont, where there will also be voting for the regional elections, responds by saying that there are “some ignorant people, who are competing for the European Parliament, who make fun of the European flag”, but that flag, he explains, “represents our identity and our Christian roots”. The leader of Forza Italia, in fact, underlines how “the 12 stars” are not “the States”, but rather “they are the 12 stars that surround the head of the Virgin, they represent the 12 tribes of Israel” and the flag “is blue” precisely “because the Virgin’s mantle is blue”. Therefore, he asks for “respect” for this banner which “clearly indicates what our roots are”.
To those who ask him if by chance he was referring to someone in particular, such as Vannacci or the Northern League member Claudio Borghi, who also spoke in recent days on the topic of the European flag, Tajani glosses over, stating that the phrase was “referring to everyone, so that everyone knows what the European flag is.” But the Foreign Minister’s stance triggers a harsh back-and-forth with Borghi who promptly replies by name and surname of the subject of his attacks: “We have the nice Antonio Tajani who launches himself into reckless esoteric interpretations of the flag EU (the 12 tribes of Israel, the mantle of the Madonna)”. “For me – he declares – he can also keep it as a blanket”, the European flag because “freedom is sacred”. But he insists, “I don’t want to be the only country with the obligation to display it alongside the national flag”. Tajani, however, does not give up and reacts by recalling how the European Union also serves “to protect us better”. As demonstrated by the “military air-naval mission” wanted by Brussels to protect Italian merchant ships in the Red Sea. And although the deputy prime minister then reiterates that “there is no conflict in the government” given that FI agrees with Salvini’s ‘mini-amnesty’ (“Because we always defend the house”) and also on the need for the European legislation on ‘green houses’ is reviewed, as the League has always supported, the Forzista group leader in the Senate Maurizio Gasparri, attacks Borghi without sparing the irony on the surname: “The villages are the beauty of Italy”, but “in politics, on the other hand, are less appreciated”. And, in addition to the “Renzino” (Enrico Borghi of Italia Viva ed.)) who “often says useless things”, he also takes it out on “the other Borghi”, Claudio, the one from the League who “does not appreciate the European flag and the its high symbolic meaning”. “But we – he states – are waiting for patients”. “He went from pro-Padania evocations to the excellent slogan ‘Italians first’ – he adds – after Italy he will also discover Europe”.
ANSA Agency Italy among countries that have not signed the EU text on LGBTIQ+ rights – News – Ansa.it The declaration for the promotion of European policies in favor of LGBT+ communities presented by the Belgian presidency to the EU member states was not signed by nine out of 27 states. (ANSA)In reality, in addition to the flag, there are also different nuances regarding LGBTQ+ rights and the government’s no to the EU’s position in their defense. “Let’s not confuse gender theory with the rights of couples and homosexual people”, comments Tajani, thus distancing himself from the more extremist declarations of the Minister for the Family Eugenia Roccella. With the government’s decision to vote against, Forza Italia notes, “the Vannacci line wins”.
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