Within Forza Italia, some are putting the brakes on end-of-life issues: “It is not a right”

Is Forza Italia stepping up the pressure on end-of-life issues? “Far from it,” replies the party’s MEP Massimiliano Salini to Il Foglio. “It is not a right, and it is not a priority.” Yet in these pages on Monday, Senate group leader Stefania Craxi put it in black and white that “the issue of end-of-life care exists” and that the party will fight “at any cost” for legislation on the matter. Salini has read that statement and agrees with it because, in his view, those words “show that Forza Italia is the party of care, not of end-of-life care”. The opposite of his headline. Why is that? “It is made clear, for example, that the National Health Service (SSN) must, at most, verify that the requirements set out by the Constitutional Court are met, but cannot intervene to provide a service that is not currently classified as a right. On the contrary,” explains Salini, “palliative care is widely recognised as a right but not recognised as a service in much of our country. At the very least, I hope those words mean that.” If that were not the case, “we would be yet another party trying to lay claim to the battle for civil rights. There are already a huge number of minor parties that have been claiming this battle – which I do not support – as their own for years. I wouldn’t consider that a wise strategy.”

The arrival of Enrico Costa at the helm of the ‘Azzurri’ in the Chamber of Deputies, and of Stefania Craxi in the Senate, has brought greater visibility to a less rigid liberal stance on civil rights, in line with the influence exerted on the party by the daughter of its founder, Marina Berlusconi. The most recent example of this was the debate on egg freezing, in which Forza Italia MP Alessandro Cattaneo found himself among the advocates of a more open approach: “It is right to discuss how the state should help women and in what way,” said the MP. According to Salini, “the statements made by individual MPs should not be confused with Forza Italia’s official position, which is instead determined through internal debate. A liberal party is not a party where everyone does as they please.”

The results of an uncoordinated patchwork of positions would also be evident at the ballot box: “Some citizens might be alarmed, but generally speaking, the majority of the liberal and Catholic centre-right electorate might smile at the sight of a party chasing the left on a non-priority issue”. Flavio Tosi, speaking from Brussels, emphasises this point. Whilst aligning himself with Craxi’s position on end-of-life issues, he reiterates Forza Italia’s opposition to the far more specific concept of euthanasia: “It’s a dreadful word. It is quite different from the choice to accompany to their passing those who are unable to live with dignity in our society,” says the MEP. The important thing, Tosi emphasises, “is that we do not forget the Catholic electorate, the right to conscientious objection and respect for boundaries. We must be careful that, by constantly making exceptions to certain limits, we do not end up permitting cloning, the sale of organs and who knows what else”. Salini appeals to the party: “We need common sense. Craxi’s words are an excellent way to tackle the issue. Provided, that is, that we do not then declare ourselves to be the ‘end-of-life’ party”.