The president of the Meloni youth wing responds to Virginia Libero: “We prefer a generation that doesn’t run away to deserters”

The PD wants disarmament. It will organise deserters. At least that is what Virginia Libero, secretary of the Young Democrats, has said. “Rather than a generation of deserters, we prefer a generation that does not run away,” retorts Fabio Roscani, president of Gioventù Nazionale, the equivalent organisation within the ranks of Fratelli d’Italia. “We know full well which side to be on. We stand with Italy and with those who resist.” And with Ukraine as well? “Of course. Less than a month after the Russian invasion in 2022, we travelled to the war zones to deliver aid and supplies collected in our country. We continue to support Kyiv. And we continue to stand by that support.” 

This is a very different tone indeed from what is currently being heard from the rambling ranks of the broad coalition. “The PD is trying to walk a tightrope,” the young Meloni-supporting MP explains to Il Foglio. “It says it wants to support Ukraine and condemn Putin, yet at the same time it objects to military spending on defence: this sort of ambiguity does the debate no favours. Our defence capability is our ability to defend our very own freedom. Pretending not to understand this merely serves to provide a slogan to use in the election campaign.”

Gioventù Nazionale will be gathering in the coming days for Fenix, the organisation’s annual gathering, which will take place from 16 to 20 September in Rome. “It will also be an opportunity to reaffirm how we intend to face the future that lies ahead,” continues Roscani. “I am not just talking about loving one’s homeland and defending it from an attack that we hope will never happen: a generation that does not run away is, first and foremost, a generation that is always committed to improving our nation, that is willing to sacrifice something of itself for the good of Italy, that is capable of pulling together and feeling like a community. I realise that on the left this may be incomprehensible, but we cannot delay”. Nor, however, should we be forced to choose between the slippery slope of resurgent nationalism and the ideological rejection of the reality around us. Meloni’s young supporters, at least, speak plainly. Those in the PD, in order not to shake an already fragile alliance, do whatever it takes to maintain their balance: they stand still. In a world that moves all too fast, this is tantamount to taking themselves out of the running.