The government eats Easter dove. And already thinking about “panettone”

The government has arrived to cut the Easter dove, yet many, when it took office, were betting on a very short duration. And the impressions are that this legislature is already glimpsing Christmas panettone. The current majority, in fact, apart from the physiological decline in consensus, seems to be able to overcome even the most difficult obstacles, always shifting the centre of gravity of the discussion to constructive policies instead of getting bogged down in controversy. An example? The migrant case. The Cutro affair, although the memory of its dramatic epilogue remains indelible, has given way to the offensive strategy pursued by the government on the table that counts to tackle the problem, Europe. The latest act was the meeting with Pedro Sanchez, Prime Minister of Spain, the state that will preside over the European Council in the next six months, a meeting in which the continental solution to the migrant problem was also discussed.

Also confirming the health of the majority came the election of Massimiliano Fedriga in Friuli Venezia Giulia. It has been a long time since the region has re-elected its outgoing governor, but the young and popular leghista won with 64% of the vote, beating his main competitor Massimo Moretuzzo (PD-M5S) by about 30 points. And as much as administrative elections are a chapter in themselves, they are after all always an indirect test for the government. In this case the third, passed with flying colours, after Lazio and Lombardy. Meloni’s leadership appears increasingly monolithic, strong in a secure partnership with the allies, which is also manifesting itself in the nomination game. The only unexpected alarming event is the sudden hospitalisation of Silvio Berlusconi due to a lung infection as part of the chronic leukaemia he has been suffering from for some time. The Cavaliere‘s condition is serious and he is being treated by Prof. Zangrillo at San Raffaele in Milan. This news certainly creates tension in Forza Italia, whose leadership is still firmly in the hands of the former premier and his close associates.

On the other side, the opposition is still divided, the only novelty being the new secretariat of an increasingly “Schlein-oriented” PD. The only names in the minority quota are Debora Serracchiani for Justice, Davide Baruffi for local authorities and Alessandro Alfieri for reforms and NRRP. The others are: Marta Bonafoni, coordinator of the secretariat, third sector and associations; Stefania Bonaldi, Pa, professions and innovation; Annalisa Corrado, ecological conversion, climate, green economy and 2030 agenda; Alfredo D’Attorre, university; Marco Furfaro, head of policy initiatives, welfare, contrasting inequalities; Maria Cecilia Guerra, labour policies; Camilla Laureti, agricultural and food policies; Marwa Mahmoud, participation and political training; Pierfrancesco Maiorino, migration policies and the right to housing; Irene Manzi, school, education, childhood and educational poverty; Antonio Misiani, economy, finance, enterprises and infrastructure; Giuseppe Provenzano, foreign affairs, Europe and international cooperation; Vincenza Rando, fight against mafias, legality and transparency; Sandro Ruotolo, information, culture and memory; Marco Sarracino, territorial cohesion, south and internal areas; Marina Sereni, right to health and healthcare; Igor Taruffi, PD organisation; Alessandro Zan, rights.

But if the political scenario seems anaesthetised, the same cannot be said of the world of publishing and communication, where the week was marked by important movements. First of all, those in RAI, with the composition of the Vigilance Commission, whose chairmanship has gone to Barbara Floridia (M5S) and with the government putting its hand in the schedules of the various networks, as is customary; but also those relating to some newspapers, such as Il Riformista, published by the entrepreneur Alfredo Romeo, who has entrusted the direction to the senator Matteo Renzi. Il Domani, which has liquidated Stefano Feltri to make way for Emiliano Fittipaldi and l’Unità, whose new editor-in-chief is Piero Sansonetti. Last but not least, news that concerns us closely, the birth of the publishing company URANIA Media, a spin-off of UTOPIA, which became the owner of The Watcher Post and all its audiovisual productions.

The real centre of gravity of the political week was in Northern Europe, with Finland’s entry into NATO. If one of the objectives of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was to keep NATO away from Russia’s borders, one fact suffices to demonstrate the unsuccessful outcome of his choice: with Finland’s entry into the Alliance, NATO’s direct land border with Russia has more than doubled. At the time of the Cold War, the Atlantic Alliance and the Soviet Union shared only a short stretch of the northern border in Norway and a longer stretch of the south-eastern border between Turkey and present-day Armenia and Georgia. Today there are over 2,000 km from the North Cape to the Baltic States.

In the unanimous opinion of experts and analysts, the accession of Finland, and prospectively Sweden, to the Alliance entails a significant change in the balance of power between NATO and Russia and is a defeat for Putin: the invasion of Ukraine triggered changes in the security architecture of post-Cold War Europe so profound that they will weigh on relations and power relations between the West and Russia for decades.