AntonioTajani answers a few questions about Gaza and Sergio Mattarella’s speech. A few hours earlier, those who had heard the words of the President of the Republic addressed to the diplomatic corps, spoke of a frozen expression on the faces of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, sitting in the front row. For the additional reason that foreign policy is the responsibility of the government, not of the Head of State, as some Ministers pointed out during the ceremony for the Republic Day.
«It is not true, there was no embarrassment», Tajani replies instead. «Recognizing Palestine now would only serve to further embitter Netanyahu. Just look at what happened with Macron. The truth is that only the United States can stop Netanyahu».
“Stop Netanyahu? Only the United States can stop him”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs: recognizing Palestine would further embitter Israel. There are those who wish my son the same death as the children of Gaza. But what do I have to do with it?”
He says:
As if President Mattarella had said something different from what I also said… We said it afterwards with the Prime Minister, too; the United States is needed as in the negotiations on Iran. I often speak to Rubio on this. The parties trust us and see each other in Rome.
Antonio Tajani answers a few questions about Gaza and Sergio Mattarella’s speech. While the light of the sunset envelops the gardens of the Quirinale. A few hours earlier, those who had heard the words of the President of the Republic addressed to the diplomatic corps, spoke of a frozen expression on the faces of the Foreign Minister and of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, sitting in the front row.
For the additional reason that foreign policy is the responsibility of the government, not of the Head of State, as some Ministers pointed out during the ceremony for the Republic Day, asking however not to report their names.
«It is not true, there was no embarrassment», Tajani replies instead: «I heard that he bypassed us, as if the President had said something different from what I also said. We also said it with Prime Minister Meloni immediately afterwards”.
Perhaps the choice of words was less soft. We try to argue that President Mattarella probably felt the need to make up for the government’s timidity.
“But what are we not doing, in concrete terms?”
he asks with the tired tone of someone who spends his days defending himself from the accusations of the opposition and of a segment of the public according to which the Meloni government is an accomplice to the operation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the daily horror in Gaza.
“Does it seem normal to you that they should wish my son’s death, too, and that I can also go through what the Palestinian parents are experiencing? What do I have to do with Netanyahu? I am a practicing Catholic. Do you think that seeing children die like that has no effect on me?”
We insist on the point: so why not do as Spain and Ireland have done, but above all as French President Emmanuel Macron has announced he wants to do, and recognize Palestine?
“Which Palestine? Tell me which Palestine we are talking about.”
For example, the West Bank, and in the meantime continue to push on the diplomatic front to find an internationally guaranteed solution in Gaza.
«So should we recognize the Palestinian National Authority? Would it serve to change something?»
It is certainly a symbolic act that could serve to put pressure. This is what President Macron thinks. This is what an increasing number of European countries think. If others also do so, Italy could remain isolated.
«Recognizing Palestine now would only serve to further embitter Netanyahu. Just look at what happened with Macron. What level has the conflict between Israel and France reached? Do you want the truth? The truth that everyone knows is that only the United States can stop Netanyahu».
Stop the massacre, find a humanitarian way out, bring the parties back to the negotiating table.
Minister Tajani reiterates: «It is not individual countries, it is not even Europe that will be able to do it. It is only the United States.»
In the words of the Foreign Minister we can read all the frustration of someone trying to confess powerlessness. It is an admission: it is Donald Trump who can stop Netanyahu. The American President who thought he had the magic touch and claimed he could stop Vladimir Putin’s massacre in Ukraine in a couple of days. Something in the firm beliefs of the Italian government seems to be wavering. This is the impression of the last few days. Even though Prime Minister Meloni is silent, or tries to comment as little as possible. Because she, too, is waiting to understand what they want from the United States. Tajani sees only one solution and, to make his reasoning clearer, he mentions Iran:
“That is the way. I often talk about it with Rubio (the American Secretary of State, his counterpart).
Italy is involved in the US negotiations with Iran on nuclear power. They are mediated by Oman, and serve to prevent an escalation and an attack against the Ayatollahs’ regime, which Netanyahu would launch even tomorrow:
“The parties are meeting in Rome. Not by chance, but because they trust us”.
Everybody greets Minister Tajani. The Mongolian ambassador showers him with compliments and has a photo taken with him. The evening’s atmosphere is light-hearted, but the usual carefree atmosphere of this annual event was anyway shattered by Mattarella’s speech. And even Tajani, when it comes to the too many deaths in the Strip, no longer smiles, and watches his language. He is keen to repeatedly claim one thing above all: the role that Italy has, not in the front line of negotiations, but in that of humanitarian aid:
“The only convoy under UN aegis that they let pass was ours. But to be able to ensure aid, we need to talk to Israel. This is the reality that the opposition does not understand. The left-wing parties wear the keffiyeh, while they should be talking to those who have worn the keffiyeh since birth. They care if we deliver food, water and medicines, and not if we talk to Netanyahu.”
