Matteo Salvini, the leader of the far-right Italian League party, was summoned on Thursday to explain the contacts between the Russian embassy and his entourage in the face of the crisis that led to the fall of Mario Draghi’s government.
“Russian shadows over political crisis” in Italy headline Thursday the printthe center-right Turin newspaper that revealed the affair.
Mario Draghi’s national unity government fell on July 14 when the Lega, Forza Italia (right) and the 5 Star Movement (populists) refused to participate in a vote of confidence in parliament.
Flight tickets to Moscow
According to the newspaper, a diplomat stationed at the Russian embassy met at the end of May in Rome with a close collaborator of Matteo Salvini with whom he discussed the political situation.
“The diplomat, showing Russia’s possible interest in destabilizing the balance of the Italian government with this operation, would have asked if the Lega ministers intended to present their resignation to the Draghi government,” details an “intelligence document” cited by the print.
The meeting took place just as Salvini was accused of engaging in parallel diplomacy with the Russian embassy, ostensibly to work out a peace plan between Moscow and Kyiv, without the knowledge of the Italian government.
The embassy had greatly facilitated the purchase of plane tickets for Matteo Salvini and other members of the Lega for a trip to Moscow scheduled for May 29, which was later cancelled. The Kremlin has always denied any interference in Italian politics.
“Fraud” answers Salvini
Many politicians have demanded explanations from Salvini after the revelations of the print. Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio denounced an “attempt by the Russians to get the Lega ministers to resign from the Draghi government.”
“We want to know if it was (Russian President Vladimir) Putin who overthrew the Draghi government,” Democratic Party chief Enrico Letta said.
Matteo Salvini, in turn, mocked a “divided and desperate left (…) that is dedicated to looking for fascists, Russians and racists who do not exist.” “We are on the side of the West and democracy,” he said, criticizing “infox.” The Russian embassy did not comment.
The links between Matteo Salvini and Moscow are regularly controversial, particularly after the invasion of the Ukraine, and the risks of gender are parti et ses there of Forza Italia et Fratelli d’Italia (extrême droite) dans la campagne des législatives du 25 September.
An ardent admirer of Putin, Salvini wore shirts with his image in public and traveled to Moscow in 2014 to denounce international sanctions following the annexation of Crimea.
Source: BFM TV
