«The center-right is our natural home. Together today we support the Draghi government, which we wanted and which must last until the end of the legislature, to complete the good work done so far and to face the disastrous effects of the Ukrainian crisis on the energy and raw materials market ”. Thus the President of Forza Italia, Silvio Berlusconi, in his telephone greeting to the constituent Congress of “Verde è Popolare” by Gianfranco Rotondi. And he immediately intervened also on the war: “In the face of the Ukrainian crisis we have a double duty: to work for peace and to do our part with NATO, the West and Europe to put an end to a truly unacceptable military aggression” . And he added: «You are part of that center which is essential to win the elections and to have a credible center-right government in Europe and in the world. A center that cannot be neutral between right and left, which is an alternative to the left and distinct from the right as are the EPP parties. A center that must be the driving force in order to win, with our center-right allies, the next political elections, when we return to the natural dialectic between two sides ». The Knight also expressed himself on the environment: “A theme that cannot have ideological connotations, cannot be the prerogative of a political party, but has a profound cultural, civil, I would even say moral significance, according to the inspiration suggested by the Pontificate of Pope Francis “. Thus the President of Forza Italia, Silvio Berlusconi, in his message to the Constituent Congress of ‘Green is Popular’, the new political force founded by Gianfranco Rotondi.” Care for creation is a duty for every man and before all for Christians. Here, then, is the consistency of your commitment, which deserves the best of luck. I am sure that we will continue to collaborate for many more years as we have done up to now, because I consider your presence to be very important in the center-right ».
“Long live DC”
«Long live Gianfranco, long live Christian Democracy, long live the Environment». With these words the President of Forza Italia, Silvio Berlusconi, concluded his telephone greeting to the constituent Congress of “Verde è Popolare”, the new party founded by Gianfranco Rotondi. “Your political movement, which I consider to be a bit mine too, since you wanted me to be honorary president – observes Berlusconi – is a beautiful reality. Beautiful for the ideas it brings, beautiful for its consistency, beautiful for the intellectual courage you demonstrate. The commitment of Catholics in politics, from Sturzo and De Gasperi to today, coincides with the history of freedom and democracy in our country. I personally began “doing politics” “as a boy, putting up the posters of De Gasperi’s DC in the electoral campaign of 1948. For this reason I also suffered the first attack by Communist militants. It would not have been the last, as you know. This is why I feel at home with you, and I hope that there will soon be the opportunity to see us in person. In the meantime – he concludes – from the bottom of my heart, I send you my best wishes for the best outcome of your work, and – to each of you personally – in order to make the most beautiful dreams and wishes come true for you and your loved ones ».