Right-Wing Populist Leader Matteo Salvini Believes The West Should Reconsider its Sanctions Approach for Russia
Jose Nino
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Matteo Salvini, the populist leader of the Lega Party, believes that the Collective West’s sanctions war against Russia over its war in Ukraine is failing spectacularly. Instead, he believes that EU states should reassess their approach.
During a conference at Lake Como where political leaders convened, Salvino declared that the Collective West’s sanctions war against Russia has actually backfired and is helping Russia. So far, Russia has experienced an export surplus of $140 billion.
“Do we have to defend Ukraine? Yes,” Salvini conceded. “But I would not want the sanctions to harm those who impose them more than those who are hit by them.”
Elections are approaching in Italy on September 25, 2022. A right-wing coalition led by Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party is projected to win in these elections. Interestingly, Meloni has taken a harder line against Russia and believes that NATO should maintain its hardline stance against Russia by maintaining tough sanctions against it and make sure Ukraine receives sufficient military aid to stave off Russia.
Salvini said that Lega had backed measures to assist Ukraine through EU and national initiatives. He also indicated that he would not oppose EU measures to impose sanctions on Russia. However, the Italian populist leader believes European leaders will need to rethink some of their policies towards Russia.
“If we get into government will we change alliances? No. We remain deeply, proudly and firmly rooted in a free and democratic West that opposes war and aggression,” Salvini stated. “But if we adopt an instrument to hurt the aggressor and after seven months of war it has not been hurt, at least considering a change seems legitimate to me.”
Salvini believes that a concerted European effort is needed to tackle surging energy prices or hundreds of thousands of jobs could disappear. “We certainly need a European shield, like during COVID,” Salvini declared.
When he served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior from 2018 to 2019, Salvini sent a shock to the Italian political system. In this case, Salvini is offering fresh thinking with regards to the Russo-Ukrainian conflict.
However, he’s not going far enough. Russia is nowhere close to Italy, thereby it does not pose a threat whatsoever to its national security interests. Salvini would be wise to enthusiastically oppose the EU’s sanctions war against Russia. There’s no need to hedge your position or counter-signal an already awful set of policies.
Salvini can take his career to new heights by emphatically opposing the Collective West’s proxy war against Russia and chart a new course for European geopolitics. Europe need not function as a satrapy of the US when it comes to foreign policy.
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