First, the information from Prime Minister Mario Draghi to the Chambers, then the Council of Ministers called by surprise to give an ultimatum to the parties – Lega and Forza Italia in the lead – on the law on competition, and in particular on the knot of bathing concessions that agitates the center-right. Either an agreement is reached within or the government will put confidence in the text: the reform must be approved by May, because otherwise we risk losing the funds of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, explained the prime minister in a flash meeting.

League leader Matteo Salvini, who attacked Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio yesterday from the benches of the Senate, in an interview with the Giornale excludes an exit of the Carroccio from the government majority.

“The League from the beginning has chosen to enter this government with a function of stimulating the protection of national interests across the board, from the economy to international relations,” he says. But, despite his positions on the war in Ukraine and the dispatch of weapons in recent weeks have been in line with those of the Five Star leader Giuseppe Conte, he excludes the existence of “a pre-established axis” with the former prime minister.

«I agree with Draghi», he says, «it is important to use European loans correctly, but in the last few hours the priorities seem to be above all peace and work. I was surprised by the urgent convocation of the CDM for the competition bill, and I want to clarify for the umpteenth time that the saboteurs of the government must be sought on the left. I think of Letta, who by insisting on Zan’s bill makes an obvious provocation, and of Conte who votes against waste-to-energy plants and therefore against cleanliness and progress. We pay attention to the point, as to do in June with the decisive referendums to change justice ”.

Salvini throws the ball into the stands, he does not talk about possible agreements as does the coordinator of Forza Italia Antonio Tajani in an interview with the Messenger. And he focuses on Carroccio’s proposals regarding the war in Ukraine. «In my opinion», he says, «the Ukrainians must be defended above all with a vigorous and courageous diplomatic initiative. A concrete proposal is that it is Draghi directly asking Putin for a 48-hour ceasefire and the release of ships containing export products to Italy and Europe. Then it could push for Odessa to be the only candidate city to host Expo 2030 (at the moment Moscow and Rome are too ».

The leader of the League says that peace must also be pursued for economic reasons. “We are on the verge of a ‘perfect storm’: an energy crisis and a food crisis that is grafted onto an already critical situation”, he explains. And the risk is that of a new wave of migration, according to the senator. “Refugees are one thing, economic migrants are one thing. Every person fleeing the war must be helped, but we cannot take care of all those who try to improve their social conditions outside the rules ». Salvini speaks of “alarming data” on landings. And he distinguishes between the Ukrainian refugee crisis and Africa. “For Africa”, he says, “we need a different policy, the League wants to start a great cooperation plan for the development of African countries”.