Everything already seen. On the one hand Mario Draghi, on the other Matteo Salvini. The war in Ukraine, and especially the international sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s Russia, mark what appears to be a new rift between the prime minister and the leader of the League. “Italy supports and will fully support the European Union line on sanctions against Russia, including those in the Swift area”, reads a note from Palazzo Chigi after the premier’s hints in recent days and above all the confirmation in the conversation he had with President Zelensky. Yes therefore, even if for now only hypothetically, to the most feared of economic sanctions with the “stop” to payments through the world network that links thousands of banking institutions. A delicate choice: because it would hit Russia, but like a boomerang it would have repercussions above all also on countries closely linked, economically speaking, with Moscow. Italy and Germany in the first place.
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And here we come to Salvini. “If you block the possibility of making bank payments, take into account that in a few weeks Italy may remain in the dark and cold,” commented the leader of the League on the sidelines of the meeting with the consul general of Ukraine in Milan. “Obviously, if Italy is half dependent on gas supplies from Russia, we try to do everything possible without leaving millions of Italians in the cold and without forcing Italy into a blackout”. The Carroccio’s number one went further, inviting us to “evaluate everything thoroughly, because if you prevent payments between banks, we no longer have gas.” “To stop the war, everything is valid”, concluded Salvini, “and all the necessary means must be put in place but we keep in mind that one thing is to block the assets of the oligarchs, politicians and warmongers, but if we suspend payments, Italy runs out of gas and then you have to run for cover ».
The fracture, for now, is not there: to keep the situation at a standstill Salvini’s reply, late in the morning, to the journalists who pressed him on the subject: “Draghi is the Prime Minister and has our support: decide” .
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