By Silvia Marchetti
ROME (MaceNews) – Italy’s 5 Stars Movement, part of the ruling coalition, is preparing to pass a parliament resolution on Tuesday to stop the government from further funding Ukrainian fighters, with the risk of putting at stake Rome’s pro-NATO foreign policy stance, according to cabinet sources.
The 5 Stars leader Giuseppe Conte, critical of premier Mario Draghi’s leadership, is defining a document which will be voted on Tuesday at the Lower House after the prime minister’s key speech on Italy’s foreign policy strategy ahead of the European Council on June 24-25.
According to a draft of the resolution, Conte explicitly demands that the same government to which he belongs stops its military interference in the Russian-Ukrainian war by financing arms to Kiev and other military support.
“We’re not happy about how things are being dealt with; Europe and its member states should be jointly working for a diplomatic, peaceful exit strategy in liaison with both Russia and Ukraine, without stepping in through the military help of any sort. Given the escalation of the conflict, Draghi should stop financing this war”, said a 5 Stars source.
In the past 5 Stars has been quite pro-Russian, and have taken on an ambiguous stance since the outbreak of the conflict, with just foreign minister Luigi di Maio, a key party figure, siding with Draghi’s decisions.
A Democrat official warned that were the resolution to pass it could be binding for the government, given the 5 Stars are still the largest party in parliament with the most votes, despite having lost consensus nation-wide following local electoral defeats.
“Let’s hope it does not come to that,; it would go against Italy’s pro-NATO foreign and military policy, and send out a negative message that on the Ukraine-Russian front, this government is not on the same page. It would also deeply undermine Draghi’s position and activism”, said the Democrat.
The 5 Stars, and Conte in particular, are getting more critical of Draghi’s leadership as the next general vote approaches next year, with political rivalries increasing.
Another ‘moderate’ 5 Stars deputy, however, said that the movement would be honing over the next few days the details of the document to present in parliament, and that it is at the moment just a draft which could be eventually “watered down” and changed, but at the very last minute.
Contact this reporter: silvia@macenews.com
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