At 6 pm the meeting with the leaders of the Movement. First, however, the direct Instagram to take stock of the political situation, also in light of the confrontation with Prime Minister Mario Draghi last Tuesday. Giuseppe Conte starts from social networks. Objective: “to clarify” the issue of the increase in military spending. “Some countries have made choices but it is not certain that Italy should start this frenzied arms race” – explains Conte. “It would be irresponsible not to sit at a government table and not ask these questions. We talked with Draghi for an hour and a half but I didn’t get answers on many topics. And he attacks: “I don’t accept that every time we ask questions, someone says we want to bring down the government.” And he sends to the Democratic Party to say: “We are not the branch of another party.”
In short, Giuseppe Conte relaunches speaks of an economic and social emergency and also distances himself from his allies. “These are very intense hours – says Conte – we have been accused of being responsible, of wanting a government crisis and of making Italy lose credibility at an international level. Very serious accusations that arise from the fact that we want a clear passage that we consider fundamental, for us and for the citizens ». «These military investments – he specifies during the live Instagram – this commitment of 2% of military expenses what value it has, what time frame, what meaning does it have. We have always been told that these commitments must be respected, including the one signed at the NATO summit in Wales. Since then, two thirds of the countries including Italy have not respected the 2% threshold which would mean putting 10 to 15 billion on the plate in two years ”, adds Conte. «And this after the difficulties experienced in recent years. Faced with this, the M5s could not remain inert. So we absolutely asked for guarantees and our position was that these huge commitments cannot be respected ». Conte recalls that in this moment there is «a difficulty in entire production chains, there is a lack of cast iron, steel, nickel, there is also a shortage in the supply of cereals. Disturbances that don’t make me sleep at night ». “We are here to defend the interests of the citizens and we are not calm. Since two thirds of the born countries do not respect that commitment, I asked why we should respect it, who pay more than others for the effects of two years of pandemic. The result is that we have been accused of wanting a government crisis and blackmail begins: do you drop a government? No, we don’t want a crisis. All political forces must stop accusing us of wanting a government crisis every time we put a serious issue on the table. I will not accept it anymore ».