Italy | Consultations on the new government begin under tension

(Rome) Italian President Sergio Mattarella began Thursday morning his consultations for the formation of the new government which should be headed by Giorgia Meloni, leader of Fratelli d’Italia, the far-right party that won the elections.

Mr. Mattarella’s consultations, which began with the President of the Senate Ignazio La Russa, are taking place in a feverish climate caused by the declarations of the former head of government Silvio Berlusconi who claimed to have “reconnected” with Vladimir Putin and blamed Kyiv for the invasion of Ukraine. His Forza Italia party is part of the coalition led by M^me Meloni.

“I reconnected with President Putin a little, a little a lot, in the sense that for my birthday, Putin sent me 20 bottles of vodka and a very nice letter. I responded by sending him bottles of Lambrusco and a very nice letter. He told me that I was the first of his five real friends, ”said in leaked comments Mr. Berlusconi, who celebrated his 86th birthday on September 29.

In the rest of this audio recording, a new part of which leaked on Wednesday evening, he seems to blame the war on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who according to him “has tripled the attacks” against the self-proclaimed separatist republics of Donbass.

Faced with these remarks, which caused an outcry in Italy and embarrassment within his own party, Mr. Berlusconi sought to rectify the situation, specifying in a press release on Wednesday evening that his “personal position and that of Forza Italia do not s do not deviate from that of the Italian government, the European Union, the Atlantic Alliance, nor on the crisis in Ukraine nor on the other major subjects of international politics”.

He also stressed that it would be “impossible to achieve peace if Ukraine’s rights are not adequately protected”.

All these statements made in front of elected officials of his party go against the profession of faith of Mr.^me Meloni, resolutely in favor of supporting Ukraine, including by supplying it with arms, and of sanctions against Moscow.

The latter also clearly underlined this on Wednesday evening in a message addressed to all its allies, the Anti-Migrant League of Matteo Salvini, but especially Forza Italia.

Italy is “fully part and with its head held high” of Europe and the Atlantic Alliance and people who do not share this position “cannot be part of the government, even if the price to pay is not to have of government at all”.