Civati: “Enough with ‘The EU is asking us.’ Let’s achieve authority in Europe”

The candidate for Secretary to the Democratic Party: “The country has made many sacrifices and were not rewarded”

On European placement: “If we don’t enter the Party of European Socialists (PES) where are we going, to the European People’s Party (EPP) with Alfano?”

Agreements with Europe should be respected, but we must also realize that “the country and the Italian economy are tightened and we cannot come out if there is not a long-term project” a project made by “structural choices” – choices, however, “in these conditions we cannot make.” Joseph Civati, one of the three candidates for the Democratic Party in the primaries, came to Brussels to present his candidacy to voters abroad and in a meeting with the press at the European Parliament and addressed the issue of Europe and its relationship with Italy. Civati admits that the blame for the bad situation Italy is in is often due to “our limits,” but adds, however: “It doesn’t seem that the sacrifices we made have been rewarded,” yet in his view “Italy has paid for a great deal of their own mistakes these past few years; we have made more maneuvers than other European countries, we have complied with all the regulations, we have returned to the ranks.” So maybe now it is time that Brussels loosens the reins and understands that maybe, compared to measures such as the minimum wage (“which is in every country but not in Italy”) should have “an more readily available attitude, not just rigorous” and understand that “we also need to explain to the Italians that Europe is important because they care about our well-being.”

Civati is clear, “we must stand with Europe – inside and out,” but we have to be “authoritative” and we cannot continue to listen to arguments like “Europe asks us,” because right now “arguments are difficult to let pass since there is a strong anti-Europeanism that comes from twenty years of Berlusconi and the Northern League who have created the premise. And even the Beppe Grillo’s attitude is very hostile.”  Grillo with his 5 Star Movement could now also obtain representatives in Strasbourg, and who does he ask if he does not think that the ‘Grilli  followers’ may be less intransigent and find political alliances, Civati responds: “I think whether it is in English or French, Casaleggio still decides.”

But also regarding the alliance and political arrangement, Civati doesn’t spare criticism about the Democratic Party, which for years has been incapable of deciding with which European party to align. “We will write history books on the DP that doesn’t join the PES – he says – instead we must join and have a relationship with the Environmentalists and the radical leftists, but remaining as the PES.” Also because in his opinion “the question must otherwise be reversed – if we don’t join the PES, where would we go? It seems to me that there is a certain Angelino Alfano in the EPP; I would like to separate the vocations,” he jokes.

What Civati would like to convey is “change,” but paying attention to the fact that “change takes strange directions” and there are those “who want to do it as a government force, those with more subversive positions” and so today the result is “that we have a conservative government in Italy.”

Alfonso Bianchi