Turmoil in Italy

Salvini on Russia vote: “Elections are always good”

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who used to be an open admirer of Vladimir Putin, has caused a stir with his comments on the presidential election in Russia. The right-wing populist Lega leader is coming under increasing fire and is also putting Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni under pressure.

"When people vote, it's always the right thing to do. Elections are always good, both when you win them and when you lose them. We take note of the Russian people's vote and hope that 2024 will be the year of peace," said Salvini on Monday. 

Foreign Minister: "Elections were not free and fair"
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani of the conservative Forza Italia party, on the other hand, reiterated that he did not consider the result of the Russian presidential elections, which Vladimir Putin won with a clear majority, to be legitimate, after saying on Sunday that the vote was not "free and fair". "We have seen the pictures of soldiers in the polling stations. It doesn't seem to me to have been an election that respects the criteria that we respect," said Tajani. In order to put Salvini's statements into perspective, Tajani emphasized: "The foreign minister makes foreign policy."

The opposition parties called on Prime Minister Meloni to respond to Salvini's statements. "Is Meloni really convinced that a pro-Russian deputy prime minister sitting in the cabinet and influencing the government's foreign policy is not a problem for national security? I would ask myself a few questions," emphasized the leader of the Italian Left (SI), Nicola Fratoianni. He emphasized that he was "not shocked by Salvini's incredible words on the Russian elections", as the Lega leader had appeared on Red Square a few years ago with a picture of Putin as a soldier on his T-shirt. "What strikes me is that Prime Minister Meloni is once again acting as if nothing has happened," criticized Fratoianni.

Meloni: No tensions with Salvini
The interviewee denied tensions with Salvini. In an interview with the political program "Agora" broadcast by Rai, the head of government emphasized that her coalition was also united on foreign policy issues.