Melons: "We cannot tell citizens that the money is only there for defense. They need re…

The Prime Minister, GeorgieMelonsinterviewed by Mattino Cinque, spoke about internal politics, economics and international relations.

The government decided on a change of pace

On the government’s policies on immigration, “the Italians must give the vote, I am never satisfied with my character, it is one of my trademarks, but I think it is a fact that this government has achieved a total change of pace compared to the past, effectively interrupting once and for all the uncontrolled increase in illegal immigration that we have been witnessing for years”, stated the Prime Minister. “We have reversed the trend drastically, I’m not saying it, the numbers say it. To date, landings have decreased by as much as 80% compared to 2023. And by over 40% compared to when we came to government. And repatriations have increased, which is also very important, because in 2022 for every 100 illegal immigrants who landed in Italy, around 4 were repatriated. Today at least 35 are repatriated”, he claimed. “After that, obviously, it’s a daily job, it’s an endless job. Among other things, we are at the beginning of the summer, which is the most difficult period. So I’m not singing victory, And I’m not letting my guard down on this, because in any case it’s not enough for me, I want to do, we would like to do even better – he concluded -. And I’ll tell you that perhaps we could even do even better straight away if all the components of the State remained in the same direction as us. But in any case, well, let’s say that the strategy put in place is still giving its results fruits”.

We cannot say ‘money is only for defense’

Meloni then stated that it is not possible “to tell citizens that the money is only there for defense, and I say this as a person who strongly supports the need for Italy and Europe to do more to defend themselves”. “When you ask someone else to take care of your defense then you pay for it”, underlined Meloni. “If in the face of crises we are not able to provide answers to citizens and businesses, we risk that there is nothing left to defend in this nation. And therefore we must seek a balance”, he concluded.

The message to the EU

Then the message to the EU and the request for flexibility: “We are working to find an agreement, we are very committed at a diplomatic level, it is clear that in the face of a global crisis, generated by Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, we have asked Europe to extend the flexibility that is already granted for expenditure on security and defense of investments to mitigate the impact that the crisis is having on families and businesses”. “I want Italy to be a nation that doesn’t have to say thank you to anyone. And this clearly has a cost, it’s called freedom”, Meloni pointed out. “On the other hand, however, it is clear that if we, in the face of crises, are not able to provide answers to citizens and businesses, we risk that there will no longer be anything to defend in this nation. And therefore we need to seek a balance. Defense spending is okay, even more so security spending is okay, but resources are also needed for energy”, he insisted.

Schlein and Venice? Not very strong on predictions

There was no shortage of attacks on the opposition and, in particular, on Elly Schlein. Meloni highlighted that “the opposition has been betting on the attrition of the government since before we took office, the opposition gave us up for doom after a maximum of six months and we have become the second longest-lasting government in the history of Italy and one of the most stable governments in Europe. Therefore, I would say that the left is not very strong on predictions. Imagine that the last prediction that Elly Schlein made was ‘Let’s win in Venice, let’s send Meloni home’, and in Venice the centre-right won. Let’s see how it will end.”