A motion filed by the Lega, calling for a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine, won a majority in the Italian Senate yesterday. The text was voted without opposition, with only 7 abstained. The text sounds more opportunistic than based on principles.
The text calls on the government to “promote, in the competent European forums, a concrete and timely initiative aimed at developing a diplomatic path in order to pursue a rapid solution to the conflict.” The text notes that “the 23 months of fighting have made it clear that neither side has the capacity to achieve a decisive military victory over the other, and it is therefore impossible to think of an exclusively military solution.” Therefore, “it is essential to develop a vision of how the war will end.”
The motion then recalls how “the numerous efforts of the international community toward the Ukrainian people have so far proved essential but not sufficient to neutralize the Russian threat,” and thus Moscow “has circumvented Western sanctions by fortifying partnerships with countries in the Global South (North Korea, China, Iran) that pose a threat to the current geopolitical balances.” The Lega therefore calls for a change of strategy, taking into account that “even Italian public opinion no longer fully supports the military aid that our country continues to send in support of the Ukrainian army and hopes for a peaceful and diplomatic solution to the conflict.”
Finally, the motion stresses that there is a Trump factor: “It is not a remote possibility, in the short term, to imagine an isolationist posture of the United States with reference to European dynamics and especially the conflict in Ukraine.”
Michele Geraci, who was placed in the government by the Lega in 2018, but eventually split from the Lega because of its pro-EU and pro-NATO policies, has commented that “It is too easy to change idea a few weeks before the European [elections] and after a half million deaths, which could have been prevented if we had taken the diplomatic course.” Regardless of this, reality is asserting itself.
