Italian foreign policy, this unknown
But really today does the Italian political class have an interest in defending national interests beyond the borders of the country? It is under everyone's eyes that our national team lacks a foreign policy
Michele Marseille answered this question in an article published in "Lindro.it"
It has long been the case that the Italian Foreign Policy, from different governments, is increasingly under the magnifying glass and, if we really want to play with the meaning of words, the lens is used to find and glimpse a foreign policy.
Yes, a line of market, of tactics, of diplomacy and above all of relationships that brings a country and, for our case Italy, abroad; continuously builds and maintains relationships, helps companies in non-local markets and acts as an institutional bridge with other countries.
Just what Italy has just said.
The political actions of the various parties that have taken place over the past 10 years, poor in internal politics and effective electoral campaigns to win the vote by the citizen, have led the same leaders and political forces of any alignment to focus the attention of one's mission only and exclusively on internal politics which, to call it such, should nevertheless be well done.
Certainly the writer is not a delegated person, much less indicated, to criticize or at least give judgments on the matter, if not on a personal level, but certainly the problems that we find in our daily work, and in what is the oil sector, they are objective evidence.
On a daily basis, and for several years now, through the institutional activity that we carry out with FederPetroli Italia, the continuous confrontation with foreign countries has been the line of action where we have invested the most, being the energy sector a big arm without the interlocution and activity in other countries could not exist.
It is under everyone's eyes that our National is lacking a Foreign Policy, not only of logistics and presence on the part of ministers or institutional offices appointed for this purpose, but it also lacks the opinion on issues, topics, decisions where Italy is, or rather, it could be the dominant voice.
When we see such failures, the cunning of various politicians and deputies for the task is to download the barrel on Diplomacy, on the Diplomatic Corps, on Mission Leaders, on Italian Embassies around the world. A convenient tool of responsibility that immediately exempts the institutional delegates 'in political quota' and refers to everything to those who have chosen Foreign Affairs as a career.
The famous Italian Diplomacy, the much criticized, the so obscure in the eyes of the normal citizen, that diplomacy that rather than mediating, must maintain the balance between Italy and the rest of the world, must smooth out, mediate, make people understand, adjust and to calm, most often the minds and minds of the representatives abroad and to act as a continuous mask of beauty for our country.
In recent years, embarrassing moments have been the case of the Maròs in India and the Finmeccanica scandal, the Regeni case in Egypt, Libya with the then Ambassador Perrone (today at the Embassy of Italy in Iran) and in recent weeks with the two rival factions of Haftar and al-Sarraj (it is news of these hours the forces of General Khalifa Haftar have started a massive offensive for the advance on Tripoli), not to mention the extradition situation of Cesare Battisti in Brazil and, not least the events of these days in Iraq, we could continue the numerous list, but we cannot fail to mention how the former Italian Minister of Education, Hon. Lorenzo Fioramonti, during the COP25 in Madrid, in an intervention on one of the many objectives of future eco-sustainability of the Planet, before an international audience, and representing the United Nations, expressed itself with embarrassing declarations on what the Italian state-owned energy company, or ENI should f are of its core business, that is to abandon Oil and Explorations.
Statements that even if pronounced by a Minister of Education, which more than a foreign competence has a purely internal role in the country, are of great importance and fall within a more direct line of image and foreign policy.
Let us obviously think that the Italian national media have reported very little of what happened in Madrid on ENI, a clear sign of a little value and attention in Foreign Policy and certainly in the figure of the competent Minister.
Once foreign policy was also managed to promote the excellence of a country, I talk about products, services and the strategic industrial structure, in order to be promoters abroad and to attract investments in one's own country.
In our case, once we went abroad to promote ENERGY, for example the construction of gas pipelines between one country and another, not surprisingly, I remember with great emotion Enrico Mattei, the interests of ENI. At that time a Lord named Giulio Andreotti, we talk about 1972, safeguarded national interests with a Mediterranean Foreign Policy, with the famous principle of 'Enlarged Mediterranean', a pool of ideas and diplomacy that involved different countries in a real business interconnection, Middle East, Caucasus, Central Asia, everyone in the care of their national interests.
Giorgio La Pira himself during his travels began talks with Egypt, Sudan, Morocco, Algeria, Angola, Mozambique, Congo, Somalia, Jordan, Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran, Bolivia, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Libya, Nigeria and many other countries.
Today a company like ENI which is Italy's presence and representation abroad, in the geopolitical role it plays, is at risk of ridicule, by vain and meaningless words in this industrial context, and moreover by a representative of institutions. ENI, present in 67 countries around the world, with operations just started in the international Oil & Gas sector and with important stakeholders involved.
Here is what we want to help you understand through these lines, there is no Foreign Policy, when there is no coordination of GOVERNMENT you automatically become amateurs in jeopardy and everyone talks about everything, not caring about a lack of fairness towards colleagues or who is deputy to these functions, not to mention the productive sector of a nation.
The image of a country abroad, it will seem strange, but it is more important than the country itself, institutional representation abroad is a clone that must be an integral part of that host country, adapting, with great diplomatic work, to travel on 'almost' parallel tracks in terms of politics, in the social and economic world.
Perhaps we should all ask ourselves a question: but really today does the Italian political class have an interest in defending national interests beyond the borders of the country?
I think that today we lack a clear public vision, together with the entrepreneurial industrial one, the POLITICIANS of the First Republic aimed at a technical knowledge, without neglecting the delicate and vital Geopolitical aspect. Today I leave you, the most free interpretation, of our Italy.