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POLITICS

Italy’s Salvini calls for Europe to ‘rethink’ sanctions on Russia

The leader of Italy's far-right League party, Matteo Salvini, on Sunday said the unprecedented sanctions the West had imposed on Russia over the Ukraine invasion weren't working.

Italy's Salvini calls for Europe to 'rethink' sanctions on Russia
People take part in a demonstration against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in the northern city of Milan, on February 26, 2022. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)

“Several months have passed and people are paying two, three, even four times more for their bills,” he told RTL radio. “And after seven months, the war continues and Russian Federation coffers are filling with money.”

Skyrocketing energy prices since the start of the war in Ukraine have inflicted economic pain on countries in the European Union which before the war had been reliant on Russia for a large chunk of its gas supplies.

READ ALSO: Will Italy’s hard right win the election with a ‘super majority’?

Salvini later doubled down on his comments during a debate at an economic forum being held in Cernobbio, northern Italy.

“We need a European shield” to protect businesses and families, as during the Covid pandemic, Salvini told delegates during the forum.

“If we want to go ahead with the sanctions, let’s do it, we want to protect Ukraine — but I would not want that to mean that instead of harming the sanctioned, we harm ourselves,” he said.

Italy’s League party leader Matteo Salvini, known for his admiration of Vladimir Putin, said Russia has no influence on Italy’s elections. Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP

A day earlier he had tweeted that “those who have been sanctioned are winners and those who put the sanctions in place are on their knees.”

“It’s evident that someone in Europe has made a bad calculation. It is essential to rethink the strategy to save jobs and businesses in Italy,” he said.

Following Salvini’s comments, Enrico Letta, leader of the Democratic Party and one of his main adversaries ahead of parliamentary elections on September 25 retorted on Twitter: “I think (Russian President Vladimir) Putin couldn’t have said it better.”

He later told reporters on the sidelines of the forum on the banks of Lake Como that they were “irresponsible” statements which “risk causing very serious damage to Italy, to our reliability and to our role in Europe”.

“When I hear Salvini talk about sanctions, I feel like I’m listening to Putin’s propaganda.”

READ ALSO: Italy’s newspapers warn of Russian ‘interference’ in election

Salvini is well known as being an admirer of Vladimir Putin, and links between his League party and Moscow have raised concerns in Italy, particularly since the invasion of Ukraine.

But Giorgia Meloni – the post-fascist prime ministerial hopeful whose Brothers of Italy party has formed an alliance with the League – has taken a clear position in favour of support for Ukraine and sanctions on Russia.

“If Italy lets go of its allies, for Ukraine nothing changes, but for us, a lot changes. A serious nation that wants to defend its interests must take a credible position,” she told delegates in Cernobbio.

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POLITICS

Florence elects first woman mayor after runoff elections

The Italian city of Florence, a leftist bastion, on Monday elected its first woman mayor as Sara Funaro easily defeated the right-wing ex-director of the prestigious Uffizi Galleries.

Florence elects first woman mayor after runoff elections

Funaro, a local councillor with the centre-left Democratic Party, won 60 percent of the vote in a second round run-off against German-born art historian Eike Schmidt, official results showed.

Schmidt, a political novice known for his successful revamp of the Uffizi Galleries during eight years as director, was backed by far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s coalition government.

If elected, he would have been the first right-wing politician to lead the historically liberal city. But it was not to be.

Funaro, 48, has been a city counsellor since 2014 in the administration of outgoing mayor Dario Nardella, charged with welfare, health care, immigration and teaching.

A psychologist by training, she dedicated her victory to her grandfather Piero Bargellini, a venerable figure in Florence known as the “Flood Mayor” for directing emergency and recovery efforts during the catastrophic 1966 flood.

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