ROME (ITALPRESS) – “The first question is always one of merit, it applies to Fitto as to all commissioners: what they come to say in the Commission. In this case, however, a political problem has also arisen, as pointed out by our delegation leader Zingaretti: Fitto belongs to a party that in Brussels is in opposition and is indicated by a government whose majority is opposite to that which in the European Parliament supports Ursula von der Leyen. On this it is the president who must give guarantees and demand consistency from the EPP: the vote for Fitto cannot in any way determine a change in the majority in Parliament.” Thus, in an interview with la Repubblica, when asked whether the Pd will vote for or against the nomination of Raffaele Fitto to the executive vice-presidency of the European Commission, MEP Stefano Bonaccini, who on the subject of the call by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, on the importance, for Italy, of the European appointment of the minister in the Meloni government, comments, “Our head of state never puts in trouble those who are loyal to the Constitution, attentive to the general interest and the common good. As I said, it is up to the EPP and von der Leyen to resolve the contradiction that has opened up. “The Socialists and Democrats family, like others in the majority,” he adds, “is very concerned that shared commitments will not be fulfilled. On this, we expect consistency from both the Commission and the EPP. To wink at the sovereignists is to damage Europe and the Commission called to lead it. We are at the first step, if one gets it wrong it opens a huge problem. And we work so that it doesn’t happen.” “The problem for the PD,” he stresses, “has never been Fitto himself or the delegations that von der Leyen gave him, which are moreover less important than those that Gentiloni had. On the contrary, we demand clarity with respect to the commitments made. And that the Ecr right stays out of the majority that supports the Commission. You cannot govern Europe with those who want to weaken it. Otherwise that majority is no more. I have worked well with Fitto in the past years: not only do I have no personal prejudices, but I hope, on the contrary, that he will help the Italian government to abandon positions that hurt Italy. He knows Europe and knows how important it is for Italy: if he can explain this to Fratelli d’Italia and the League, I am the first to be happy.” And if Fitto were to pass with the votes of the conservatives, the neo-Nazis of Afd, and maybe even the Patriots of Le Pen and Salvini as an alternative to those of the Pse, for Bonaccini it is clear “that the new Commission would end before it even started. But that would be a tragic mistake, and I am confident that neither President von der Leyen nor the Ppe want that.” “If the EPP thinks it can vote against a commissioner from the Pse and in favor of a commissioner from Ecr, then it is better for it to say right away that it has changed its mind and its program and that it therefore no longer wants this majority and this Commission,” Bonaccini continued. “Let me add one thing: I understand that there is a tough clash in Spain, but the instrumentality of the attacks on Ribeira for the flood in Valencia I have only seen, on the other side, from the Italian government toward the Emilia-Romagna region with the flood. If the EPP believes it can offload its contradictions on the European Parliament, then it is failing in its commitments and also betraying its pro-European vocation. “To overcome the stalemate, an agreement is being sought; however, obstacles remain that can be resolved “with a vote in favor of Ribeira, which is in the majority, and a clear stance of the EPP and von der Leyen on the perimeter of the majority.” And when asked if they should officially declare that they will never enlarge to Ecr, he replies, “It seems the least, in light of what is happening.” The fact is that the EPP is increasingly voting with the right: is the axis shifting to the sovereignists? “If that were the case, the Commission would not have our confidence,” Bonaccini stresses. “If the EPP thinks it can play a two-oven policy, it is very wrong. I add a warning: be careful playing with the tiger, you think you can use the far right and do not realize that you will be distorted and then emptied because between the original and the photocopy voters always choose the original.” Von der Leyen “I voted for her wholeheartedly, as did my colleagues. I remain hopeful that a sense of responsibility can prevail on everyone’s part. As far as we are concerned, we work to unite and not to divide and block, as others are doing. The orchestra works if everyone does his or her part. Otherwise everyone takes it out on the conductor.”- Photogram Agency -(ITALPRESS).
