Director Feltri,
you have been attacked lately for daring to undermine the majesty and credibility of Antonio Tajani, who voted in favor of Ursula von der Leyen even though the allies had decided to maintain a different position. For many it was a sort of betrayal, but woe betide anyone who says so, Tajani and Gasparri take it personally and start insulting, as they did with you who exposed the minister’s about-face. And yet I am increasingly convinced that you, dearest Feltri, were right. Time itself is on your side proving right. I really don’t understand Tajani, I don’t understand his fixation on the ius scholae, he insists that it should be introduced, but on social media there is an old post of his in which the leader of Forza Italia, only two years ago, claimed that it was an ideological and divisive measure that the PD insisted on carrying forward even though the ius scholae was not in the program of the government at the time, the Draghi government. Why has Tajani changed his mind and why does he seem to be moving more and more to the left? This is the impression he gives to us, historical Forza Italia voters.
Personally, I consider myself disappointed. And I really don’t think the Knight is happy from up there either.
Best regards
Charles Style
Dear Carlo,
I don’t live in Tajani’s brain (thank God!), so I can’t tell you why the Forza Italia member has reversed his vision and now suddenly considers the ius scholae a necessary, decisive and urgent measure for the civil and human progress of the country. I don’t believe it is at all. We already have effective legislation on the matter, so much so that, according to the data, Italy is the European country that grants the most citizenships in all of Europe, surpassing France and Germany. This fact belies a certain narrative that would like our nation to be at the bottom of the class in this sector and Italians to be a racist people, incapable of accepting and integrating foreigners, treated like social outcasts, ghettoized, isolated and discriminated against. Nothing could be further from the truth. The ius scholae is not a necessity and would not affect the lives of non-Italian students, who, at the age of 18, after having lived on our territory for about ten years, can apply for citizenship without suffering in the meantime any differentiation in the treatment reserved for students of all levels. The rights enjoyed by Italian children and adolescents are the same as those enjoyed by foreigners. I repeat. But the left would like us to believe that this is not the case and that not recognizing citizenship to children is a form of intolerable injustice which violates fundamental rights.
I am surprised, I admit, that Deputy Prime Minister Tajani
is riding this red wave every day and is making ius scholae a sort of battle horse of Forza Italia, even though it is not a theme present in the government agenda nor a theme that was even minimally mentioned by Silvio Berlusconi’s party during the electoral campaign. Tajani has now pulled it out of his magician’s hat, leaving everyone a bit speechless, in particular because of the fury with which it is defended by the minister himself. Even the political adversaries who follow him, or rather who Tajani runs after, perhaps in the throes of a sort of political identity crisis, were astonished. I would like to tell you that it is the effect of too much sun, but the minister seems too pale to justify his excesses by attributing them to heat stroke.
What you say is true, that is, that two years ago Tajani declared, criticizing the Democratic Party, that the ius scholae was not a need at all and that it was a proposal – I use his own words – “ideological and divisive”, not even being in the agenda of the government in office at the time, that is, Draghi’s. The fact is that, as I explained, there is no trace of it even in the agenda of the Meloni government and Deputy Prime Minister Tajani should know this, so why continue to insist? I am not able to answer.
It seems so foolish to me to undermine the stability and compactness of a majority chosen by Italians with such broad favor. What the hell would Tajani have to gain by standing in the way of his allies? Nothing at all. He would lose voters, who would feel betrayed, and, if – an impossible hypothesis but one I raise to show the folly of such an attitude – we were to go to the polls early because of the fall of the government, Forza Italia would come out damaged, weakened compared to today, as voters across the center-right would not forgive the leader of Forza Italia for having compromised certain balances of the country.
By still chasing the radical-chic Tajani has only to lose. We hope, for his own good, that he will come to his senses and deal with the real urgent issues.
I cannot deny that Tajani’s conduct seems to me at the very least ambiguous.
I don’t think there is a precise plan behind it aimed at subverting the fate of the executive, and yet, if I were Giorgia Meloni, I would be very wary of those allies who are increasingly closer to the left.
In politics, just like in family, low blows and betrayals always come from those closest to us.