Oct. 20 () –
The former prime minister of Italy and president of the Fuerza Italia party, Silvio Berlusconi, has qualified this Wednesday night his statements leaked by the country’s press, assuring that in his 28 years of political life the values of Atlanticism, Europeanism and the prioritization of The West “have always been among its political commitments.”
Thus, after an afternoon of controversy over Berlusconi’s statements in which he stated that the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenski, was guilty of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the leader of Fuerza Italia has assured in a press release to which he has agreed to ‘Corriere della Sera’ that “no one can question” his commitment to Western values.
“No one, I emphasize none, can afford to discuss this. The left, which has been on the wrong side of history so many times, can certainly not discuss this. Much less the left of the Democratic Party, which even in the last elections Less than a month ago, it was allied with the enemies of NATO and the West,” says the letter shared by Berlusconi.
In addition to the left, ‘il Cavaliere’ has attacked the journalists from the LaPresse agency who have leaked the audio with his statements, assuring that “not all of this would not exist if Italy did not have the terrible habit of transforming the political discussion in gossip, using stolen phrases recorded incognito”.
In this sense, he has argued that this method of obtaining information leads to distorting and ruining his thinking, using “waste” from his conversations at will, and attributing opinions very different from those he really has.
“The fault does not lie with the media, which are obviously forced to spread this news, but with those who use these methods of discrediting unworthy of a civilized country. Without this, there would be no need to state the obvious,” he added. the president of Fuerza Italia.
Given this, Berlusconi has argued that his personal position and that of his party do not differ from that of the Italian Government, the European Union and NATO, neither in terms of the war in Ukraine nor in terms of major issues of international politics.
“We have demonstrated it in dozens of official statements, parliamentary acts, votes in the Chamber of Deputies. To question the causes of Russian behavior, as it was doing, and to ask for a diplomatic solution as soon as possible, with the firm and joint intervention of The United States and China are not acts that contradict the solidarity and support of the West for the Ukrainian people,” he added.
Berlusconi’s statements have sparked controversy between his partners and the opposition, such as the Five Star Movement, which has asked the future government not to allow Fuerza Italia to obtain the Foreign Ministry, arguing that the former Italian prime minister “has undermined the image of Italy”.
“In light of Berlusconi’s latest and most comprehensive statements on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, a problem for our country is revealed. I don’t think it can be acceptable for Force Italy to get the Foreign Ministry,” the president said. of the Five Star Movement, Giuseppe Conte, in statements collected by the aforementioned newspaper.
For their part, sources from the party that won the last elections on September 25, Brothers of Italy, have told the AndKronos news agency that Berlusconi’s words are “worrying.” “It’s a problem for Fuerza Italia. The more unreliable they are, the less space they will have,” the source said.
In fact, the leader of the Brothers of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, has defended Italy as a fundamental country of the Atlantic Alliance and the European Union. “Whoever does not agree with this pillar will not be able to form part of the government,” she has sentenced.
In the other partner of the future government coalition, the League, the confessions of the former prime minister would have surprised, however. The leader of this formation, Matteo Salvini, has expressed his astonishment in a meeting with the League executive, according to the AdnKronos agency.
However, the party led by Salvini has assured that the leak of Berlusconi’s audio is due to a strategy of the left and the media that “fuel tensions”.
