A woman holds a banner that reads “Peace = Stop Putin” during a pro-Ukrainian rally at Arco della Pace in Milan, Italy on Saturday.
Piero Cruciatti / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
hide captions
switch captions
Piero Cruciatti / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
A woman holds a banner that reads “Peace = Stop Putin” during a pro-Ukrainian rally at Arco della Pace in Milan, Italy on Saturday.
Piero Cruciatti / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
ROME – When Italy’s new right-wing coalition government was sworn in last month, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni vowed to continue her country’s loyal military support and support for Ukraine.
Her stance has not changed but as Europe prepares for its first winter without Russian gas supplies, and thermostats are shut down along with households struggling to pay the price. With electricity and water on the rise, there is concern that Italians are feeling war-weary, in greater numbers than ever before. arms for Ukraine, and wants Ukraine and Russia to resolve their differences on the negotiating table rather than on the battlefield.
Ukraine says it intends to continue fighting until it regains all of the territory Russia has held since 2014.
Italy’s support remains crucial to Europe’s and NATO’s support for Ukraine, and any swings from Europe’s third-largest economy could fracture the consensus on help Ukraine through this conflict, as the continent enters a challenging and difficult winter.
“Overall, Italy is the most skeptical country in Europe in supporting Ukraine on a military basis,” Stefano Feltriseditor of the daily newspaper Domani. “We are open to Ukrainian migrants and refugees but the military option is very unpopular.” He says it’s true across the political spectrum, “from left and right.”
Italy received more than 171,000 Ukrainians since the Russian invasion this year, according to United Nations figures.
Opinion poll less than 40% Italians approve of their country’s arms supply to Ukraine, a lower percentage than the other European Union countries surveyed.
Meanwhile, many Italian businesses are on the verge of bankruptcy and have to close due to rising energy costs and interest rates. And inflation is at 11.9%.
NomismaA research institute, reports that 62% of Italian households now live on less than $2,000 a month — and many blame the war in Ukraine for their economic disaster.
Italian author and journalist Michele Santoro is one of the most outspoken critics of military aid to Ukraine. “The poorest and weakest here in Italy are paying the price of this war, those who can’t defend themselves” speaking on a popular TV talk show last week. He added: “It is no longer a question of whether to provide military aid to Ukraine. Now Europe’s number one priority is to end this war.”
Italians want the war to end
Over the weekend in Rome, an estimated 100,000 people marched in the largest peace march since the war began. The protest was organized by trade unions, various Catholic associations and peace groups.
Banners read “peace”, “no war” and “stop sending weapons.” Many protesters argue that sending weapons to Ukraine has fueled the conflict.
Protesters take part in an anti-war rally in Rome on Saturday. According to organizers, more than 100,000 people marched in Rome to demand peace in Ukraine.
Riccardo De Luca / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
hide captions
switch captions
Riccardo De Luca / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
Protesters take part in an anti-war rally in Rome on Saturday. According to organizers, more than 100,000 people marched in Rome to demand peace in Ukraine.
Riccardo De Luca / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
Stefania Vaziolo went as far as Venice to declare her opposition to supporting Ukraine.
“Europe is very weak right now and dominated by the US,” Mr. Vaziolo said.
Another peace marcher, Pietro Vergano, cites his family’s history of World War II as why he opposes all wars. Born in Sicily, he says his mother lost her home when the United States bombed Palermo in 1943, and a father was a soldier in the Italian army before he was deported to Germany by the Nazis.
He also believes that the only winners are the global oil and gas giants. “They are getting richer and richer and they are destroying the European and Italian economies,” Vergano said. The sanctions against Russia, he added, “are very harmful to us, the cost of living is going up, businesses have to close because they can’t handle the price of energy.”
The majority of marchers who spoke to NPR acknowledged that Russia had started the war, but said it was the peak time for peace talks. However, most are vague about exactly how to bring the warring parties to the negotiating table.
Also among the protesters, Laura Boldrini, a member of parliament for the center-left Democratic Party, said, “We must cease fire.” She wanted “an international conference with all world leaders to impose peace” and pressured Russian President Vladimir Putin to leave him with no other choice.
A government under pressure
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaks during a press conference at the Council of Ministers at Chigi Palace in Rome on Friday.
Massimo Di Vita / Mondadori Portfolio / Getty Images
hide captions
switch captions
Massimo Di Vita / Mondadori Portfolio / Getty Images
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaks during a press conference at the Council of Ministers at Chigi Palace in Rome on Friday.
Massimo Di Vita / Mondadori Portfolio / Getty Images
Government is set up approve Italy’s sixth military aid package to Ukraine. During the campaign, the Prime Minister Meloni said that “Italy will never be the weak link of the West.”
But some analysts are starting to wonder.
“I think I doubt that her pro-Ukrainian stance can be maintained consistently in the future.” Federico Fubinieditor at Corriere della Sera newspapers.
He believes that Meloni faces opposition from her own ranks.
“Frankly, she’s a populist and she’s aware that much of the Italian-Ukrainian public opinion,” he said. “
