Politics
Peace has been made •
Tajani’s agreement at the UN to support Martina at the FAO
During his international mission to New York, the Foreign Secretary strikes a ‘pact’ with political forces from both the majority and the opposition to back the former Minister of Agriculture’s candidacy as the new head of the United Nations. Meanwhile, his chances are looking increasingly likely: the latest endorsement comes from India.
Maurizio Martina – photo: LaPresse
There is a new development regarding Maurizio Martina’s candidacy for the FAO, the United Nations’ food and agriculture agency. According to information obtained by Il Foglio, while on an international mission in New York in recent days, Foreign Secretary Antonio Tajani has struck a cross-party ‘pact’ with the Italian political parties to support the former Minister of Agriculture and secretary of the PD as the organisation’s new Director-General. Peace has been made, it seems. The occasion was a meeting at UN headquarters attended by several Italian MPs, including, amongst others, Maurizio Gasparri (FI), Bruno Marton (M5S), Ester Mieli (FdI), Vincenzo Amendola (PD), Debora Bergamini (FI), Giangiacomo Calovini (FdI) and Peppe Provenzano (the PD’s Head of Foreign Affairs). Martina also attended the meeting, which served to take stock of her candidacy and what the future of the FAO will look like.
For this reason, the Deputy Prime Minister’s objective is twofold. As sources at the Farnesina report, on the one hand, the aim is to avoid fuelling internal controversies as has happened in the past; on the other, to demonstrate strength in backing Martina for such an important post. The elections are scheduled for next year. According to information gathered by our sources, the former Minister of Agriculture is continuing to gain ground among other countries as well: support currently stands at around 60 nations. The latest is India, as Foreign Minister Jaishankar informed Tajani yesterday. The competitors are formidable, such as the Spanish candidate Luis Planas, and the contest will be highly complex on a diplomatic level. But Italy is rooting for the Azzurri.