boomerang risk. And Read attacks- Corriere.it

“The war on Ukraine is a folly on Putin’s part, a conflict with no valid assumptions at the base.” The new Speaker of the Chamber, Lorenzo Fontana, faces his baptism of fire in the “third Chamber”, Door to door by Bruno Vespa. The condemnation of the Russian aggression is clear-cut, probably stronger than those that had come from other Northern League exponents in the first months of the war. But he does not back down on sanctions. And the opposition, even after Berlusconi’s words, goes on the attack: “With this majority a dangerous shift of Italy towards ambiguous positions on Russia”, says Enrico Letta, while Giuseppe Conte denounces the “honeymoon with Putin” .

Fontana’s line remains the one that had had a plastic incarnation in one T-shirt worn in 2014 by him, by Matteo Salvini and by the late Gianluca Buonanno in the hall of the European Parliament: “No to sanctions against Russia”. Eight years later, the new president remains convinced that it is necessary “to be careful with sanctions because if they become a boomerang, we could find ourselves in serious trouble”. For example, due to “the grain issue that could lead to severe famines and a wave of immigration from Africa and the Middle East.” In short: «It could be a weapon used by Putin to defeat Europe». Even if the aggression of Ukraine “has precluded Russia from many ties with Europe, as well as with the United States”. Reserves that up to now have not prevented the League from voting on all the provisions of the Draghi government in favor of Ukraine.

Asked by Vespa, Fontana observes that «the risk that the war could spread it is concrete and this is something to be avoided in every way ». The position is the one repeated many times by many leaguers: “With diplomacy, problems could be solved without reaching this war, which is risky.” The Montecitorio president admits: “At the beginning I said that sanctions are an excellent method for waging war without using weapons and therefore Europe had done very well”. Then, the turn: «We must be careful because with the counter sanctions that Russia applies to us we could give up before them. Because our population is much less used to suffering than the Russians ».

Fontana also revealed that he was lucky enough to receive the phone call on Saturday of the Pope. It was very nice because he thanked me for my quotation in the speech after my election, but I was the one who thanked him, for all the commitment he puts into us every day as a point of reference for Catholics ». Fontana, a traditionalist Catholic, just elected was the subject of harsh protests and a social storm. This, he believes, because “in my view there are those who want to create the enemy against me. But they are exploitation ». Among the accusations, those of homophobia: «Precisely because I am a Catholic I could not not accept the choices that other people make. I am not homophobic, I have always respected everyone’s choices. I don’t ask people about their sexual choices. Hating and discriminating is bad for oneself ».