“Several months have passed and people are paying two, three, even four times more for their bills,” he told RTL radio. “And after seven months, the war continues and the coffers of the Russian Federation are overflowing with money.” Soaring energy prices since the start of the war in Ukraine have caused economic pain for European Union countries that before the war relied on Russia for much of their natural gas supplies. Mr Salvini, who is likely to enter government as part of a hard-right coalition after Italian elections later in September, repeated his comments during a debate at an economic forum being held in Cernobbio, northern Italy. “We need a European shield to protect businesses and families, like during the Covid pandemic,” Mr Salvini told delegates during the forum. “If we want to go ahead with sanctions, let’s do it, we want to protect Ukraine – but I wouldn’t want that to mean that instead of damaging the sanctions, we’re damaging ourselves,” he said.
“Someone miscalculated”
A day earlier he had tweeted that “those who are sanctioned are victorious and those who impose sanctions are on their knees. “It is clear that someone in Europe has miscalculated. It is important to review the strategy to save jobs and businesses in Italy,” he said. After Mr Salvini’s comments, Enrico Letta, leader of the Democratic Party and one of his main rivals ahead of parliamentary elections on September 25, responded on Twitter: “I think Putin could not have said it better.” He later told reporters on the sidelines of the forum on the shores of Lake Como that they were “irresponsible” statements that “risk causing very serious damage to Italy, our credibility and our role in Europe. “When I hear Salvini talking about sanctions, I feel like I’m hearing Putin’s propaganda.” The ties between Mr Salvini and Moscow have raised concerns in Italy, particularly after the invasion of Ukraine. However, Giorgia Meloni, the far-right prime ministerial candidate whose Brothers of Italy party has allied with Salvini’s anti-immigration League, has taken a clear stand in favor of supporting Ukraine and sanctions on Russia. “If Italy leaves its allies for Ukraine, nothing changes, but for us a lot changes. A serious nation that wants to defend its interests must take a credible position,” he told the forum.
Anger at skyrocketing inflation
On Saturday, thousands of Czechs demonstrated in Prague against the EU and its support for Ukraine, handing the Kremlin a propaganda coup. The protest was organized by far-right and far-left parties that have capitalized on anger over skyrocketing inflation. “The Czech Republic needs a Czech government,” said Zuzana Majerova Zahradnikova, head of Tricolor, one of the organizers of the demonstration. “Fiala’s government may be Ukrainian, maybe Brussels, but certainly not Czech.” Demonstrators held placards reading “This is not our war” and posters of Petr Fiala, the centre-right prime minister, wearing an American-style hat, a tie with a NATO logo and a shirt in the colors of the Ukrainian flag. For Russian news channels, an important part of the Kremlin’s propaganda machine, the protests were one of the top stories of the day and were replayed constantly. The Kremlin has used its dominance of European gas supplies to pursue its version of “total war” that includes cutting supplies. This week he said the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline to Europe had been damaged and would be shut down indefinitely. Witnesses said an estimated 70,000 people poured into Wenceslas Square in the heart of Prague for the protest, the day after the government’s no-confidence vote. The Czech government has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine’s fight against Russia, and Mr Fiala blamed Kremlin propaganda for influencing the protesters. “It’s clear that Russian propaganda and disinformation campaigns are repeatedly appearing on our soil, and someone is simply succumbing to them,” he said.
