Meloni: "Israel must stop immediately and protect civilians. Not encouraging signals from Russia"

"Israel must stop", it is necessary to safeguard "the civilian population". This was said by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, guest of the second edition of "Il giorno de La Verità", at Palazzo Brancaccio, in Rome.

"All the actors in the Middle East region recognize Italy as one of the most serious and credible interlocutors, this is enough for me beyond the controversy. The government was clear from the beginning in saying that it was a war started by Hamas, we were clear in saying that it is always Hamas who wants the war to continue if it does not free the hostages". But the war "has taken on unacceptable contours, Israel must stop immediately and protect the civilian population", he continued.

"We are among the countries in the world that have helped the people of Gaza the most, with facts and thanks to dialogue with the Israeli government," he said in response to questions from Maurizio Belpietro. "I think the key players are the Gulf countries and the Arab countries that have presented a reconstruction plan for Gaza. The leaders of these countries have behaved responsibly and we must give them a hand. Then we know that there is also Iran, and the issue becomes more complicated, which is why we support the US-Iran talks, which we also hosted."

Speaking about the war in Ukraine, Meloni stressed that "the signs are not encouraging". "In front of an American president, Trump, who today says that the option of Ukraine in NATO is not on the table and that Russia must be reinserted into the international community, one would expect Moscow to make clear and rapid steps forward in the direction of peace. But - she added - exactly the opposite is happening: Russia continues to respond to these openings with bombings of civilian structures and proposals at the negotiating tables that are good for internal propaganda, such as let's denazify Ukraine".

Regarding the referendum vote, the Prime Minister said: "There is controversy over every case. Why did I choose to say that I will go to the polls but will not collect the ballot? Because I am a Prime Minister and I think it is right to give a sign of respect towards the ballot boxes and the referendum institution. It is right to give a sign of respect towards the ballot boxes and the referendum consultation, but I do not agree, with different nuances, with the contents of the referendum. Not voting is an option, it is my right. A right of everyone, of workers and non-workers".

And again: "We need to be serious about these things. In the history of the Republic, all parties have campaigned on abstention from referendums. There is also a substantive issue: many of those who "promote referendums" have been in government for the last ten years. They sing and play for themselves, as they say in Rome. Instead of spending 400 million euros" they could have acted on the referendum issues through "work in Parliament", says the Prime Minister.

"Even some members of the Democratic Party, including Picierno and Guerini" have declared that they will go to the polls and will not withdraw their ballots, "it is a question entirely internal to the left. They are looking for an external enemy, they are launching a campaign to not say that there is no internal problem to the left, placing the responsibility on us. I assert my position", he concludes.

President Meloni at the second edition of “The Day of Truth” (LaPresse)

"I am totally against halving the time required for citizenship. The citizenship law in Italy is excellent, and very open. We have long been among the European nations that grant the highest number of citizenships each year. It is a different matter to speed up the bureaucratic process once you have the right to access citizenship: it is something that interests us and we are working on it. But I will not contribute with the referendum to extending the terms for granting citizenship to foreigners in Italy to five years", said the Prime Minister

"It is natural to try to oppose the government, but I see that it is difficult to succeed. The majority is united. The government has given many answers," said Giorgia Meloni.

"Too often things are said that never happened, yesterday there was no disagreement", she continued, referring to the meeting held with Salvini and Tajani to prepare the summit on NATO. "I'm not a teacher, I didn't scold anyone. I'm proud of the work of Salvini and Tajani. I'm working so that this legislature ends with this government", the prime minister observed.

President Meloni at the second edition of “The Day of Truth” (Rainews.it)

"Italy junior partner of France and Germany? "I am more ambitious. Italy's weight is recognized abroad", said Giorgia Meloni, recalling the meetings with Macron, Merz and Trump.

"France and Italy work together, I have a good relationship with Chancellor Merz" but Italy - observes the prime minister - "must claim its autonomy and not be the spare wheel of France and Germany. Everyone has come to terms with this new line of Italian foreign policy. I intend to move forward. The others should continue to say that Italy is isolated if it makes them feel better...".

"Will I meet Macron again? This month alone there will be three summits between NATO, the G7 and the European Council. Soon I will see more Macron than my daughter...", she said.

"People with sense see the reality of things: you can say anything except that Italy is isolated. Rather, it has rediscovered a leading role with its authority and frankness. After the fall of the last center-right government, an attempt was made to convey the message that Italy's only role was that of junior partner to France and Germany. I am more ambitious. Italy must remember that it is a great nation, whose centrality is recognized if we are aware of it."

"It doesn't surprise me that those who have benefited" from film funding "are now complaining: someone said we behave like a clan. But how many self-declared right-wing actors do you know? We have no news of any prominent figures in the world of cinema who don't declare themselves left-wing. This is statistically impossible in a country where half of the citizens vote center-right. Those who aren't left-wing don't declare their political preferences because otherwise they don't work. For me, when an actor is good he works, I don't care what he votes for. There are others who behaved like a clan, and didn't give work to those who didn't vote a certain way". This was said by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, guest of the second edition of "Il giorno de La Verità", at Palazzo Brancaccio, in Rome.

And again on the tax credit: "I will not throw money away, we are working to ensure that serious productions, in a world as fundamental for Italy as that of cinema, have contributions. But crazy things have happened on the tax credit and we are fixing them. I would have expected the world of cinema to say 'good job, we'll give you a hand'. Because there are distortions that do not help cinema to grow".

"The tax credit has cost us about 7 billion euros over the years and if I tell citizens what we can do with that money I cannot allow it... We spend Italians' tax money. It is not our money, it is Italians' money and must be used seriously - Meloni pointed out. It was not serious to allow productions that took in millions and then only dozens of spectators went to the box office". The prime minister gave the example of a film for which there were "500 thousand euros of public funding, and currently it has only made 2 thousand euros at the box office".

"They say we want to silence artists? We have made rules, in my opinion common sense, to prevent waste. We have done it with the Superbonus and with everything on which there is money from the pockets of Italians, which in my opinion should be used in a serious way. And I think it was not serious to allow that there were productions that took millionaire public contributions and then at the box office made a few dozen spectators", he concluded.