Italy split over Ukraine aid
Military aid to Ukraine has become a major “fault line” in Italian politics ahead of parliamentary elections that could be held next spring, Politico wrote on Aug. 5.
Italy is experiencing a political divide over providing military aid to Ukraine, as reported by Politico on August 5. The center-left Democratic Party, led by former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, is considering whether to continue aid to Kyiv depending on the outcome of upcoming parliamentary elections next spring. Conte emphasized the importance of negotiating a resolution to the war with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Current polls indicate that the 5Star Movement and the Democratic Party are nearly tied with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing bloc. However, public sentiment in Italy remains skeptical about supporting Ukraine. Allegedly, Conte's party initially supported military aid due to the perceived military supremacy of Russia. Now, the party is pushing for negotiations instead of further shipments of weapons.
Conte opposes increasing the defense budget, which is a key objective for Meloni. Tensions have emerged within the center-left camp, with Democratic Party leader Elly Schlein rejecting the idea of making Ukraine policy decisions through primary elections. Schlein is set to challenge Conte for the leadership of the center-left. Former Defense Minister and Democratic Party figure Lorenzo Guerini also criticized Conte, stating that if he splits the coalition, he will be held responsible.
They support Ukraine by supplying weapons, insisting that the PD will back Kyiv. On the right, Meloni's coalition partners in the League have been hesitant to back aid and oppose raising the defense budget. According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy's Ukraine Support Tracker, Italy's military aid to Ukraine represents only 0.17% of its GDP, one of the lowest percentages in Europe.
Written by urgent.news from New Voice of Ukraine's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
