A terrible year

More than 50% according to some, 2 out of 3 according to others, 4 out of 5 according to the latest data… all the polls converge in a fairly delineated and eloquent direction; more and more Italians are now decidedly opposed to new shipments of arms to support Ukraine.

It is a common feeling that has begun to distance itself from political affiliation and party lines, an increasingly convinced rejection of the logic of war and even more of the idea of a just war, a distance increasingly marked and convinced by the orders that rain down from overseas on the European allies without ifs and buts. The American leash on Europe has never been very loose but, in the last year, it has proved decidedly tight, in some ways almost suffocating to the point of giving voice to an increasingly convinced and widespread anti-Americanism. The obvious televised gag on everything that does not reflect the government line aims to spread an image of a united Italy on the anti-Russian and pro-American front, compact and in line with the decisions that are taken by the majority and blindly faithful to the directives of the Born; but it is increasingly clear that this castle of certainties is creaking from many sides.

Silencing the discontent and silencing the critical positions on external support for the conflict to the cry of "Putinians" is the daily practice of newspapers and television mastheads which, totally flattened on the government line, have effectively abolished the contradictory and the "different" opinion which are also the expression and soul of democracy. In the meantime, in the theater of war, "defense" weapons have been transformed into "attack" weapons, effectively guaranteeing the continuity of the conflict which, by now is evident, enriches America immeasurably and makes the military economies of the countries Europeans. Despite the soaring gas prices, the Russian embargo and fear of future certainties, Italy in the annus horribilis continued to grow; after a weak first quarter of 2022 (+0.1% on the previous quarter), GDP growth in the second quarter was spectacular (+1.1%), the third quarter was also strong (+0.5%), in minimal decline (-0.1%) the fourth, giving rise to a certain suspicion that the arms industry is also doing great good for the health of our country.

Moreover, first the Draghi government and now the Meloni one, they never provided the precise size and type of our arms supplies to Ukraine and this reluctance to reveal the data to Parliament is also in fact a evidence of lack of democracy. After more than a year of conflict, thousands of dead and systematic destruction of the territory, there is in fact no peace plan, no concrete intention to cease hostilities on both sides, but the tables for planning are multiplying in America and Europe and begin the reconstruction of the country… the billions spent on arms to support Ukraine will return to the coffers multiplied by 10 with all due respect to all.


Michelangelo Dotta
NP May 2023