Politics
after yesterday’s chaos •
Bomb threats: Meloni meets opposition leaders at Palazzo Chigi. “The discussion was constructive, but it is up to the government to provide the answers”
Schlein: “No to blank cheques for the government. We have proposed redirecting some resources towards cyber security.” Renzi: “Yesterday’s alert could have been avoided with a good antivirus programme.” The meeting was also attended by the Minister of the Interior, Piantedosi, the Minister of Defence, Crosetto, and the two Deputy Prime Ministers, Tajani and Salvini.
Today at Palazzo Chigi, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with opposition leaders to share the available information and take stock of the bomb threats, following the chaos caused yesterday in thousands of Italian schools. The meeting was also attended by the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi; the Minister of Defence, Guido Crosetto; the Minister for Relations with Parliament, Luca Ciriani; and the two Deputy Prime Ministers, Antonio Tajani and Matteo Salvini. Representing the opposition were PD Secretary Elly Schlein, M5S President Giuseppe Conte, Angelo Bonelli for AVS, Matteo Renzi (IV), Carlo Calenda (Azione) and Edoardo Ziello (Futuro Nazionale).
During the meeting, according to centre-left sources, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reportedly explained that the meeting was not a substitute for the briefing to Parliament. Yesterday, several centre-left politicians had called for Parliament to be briefed on the bomb threats. Towards the end of her speech, the Prime Minister is said to have appealed to all political parties to unite. In the afternoon, on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit in Dublin, Meloni said that the meeting on the school bomb threats “was certainly a frank but productive discussion, in which I believe we also conveyed the image – which is necessary at this time – of a ruling class which, despite the many divisions that characterise it, knows when the time comes to set those divisions aside; this does not mean a blank cheque. Clearly, the government is not asking for a blank cheque.”
From Schlein to Calenda: statements from the opposition
“Dialogue is good, but it must continue in the appropriate forums, which are Parliament and Copasir,” commented Elly Schlein at the end of the meeting. “The responsibility for ensuring security and public order lies with the government. As the opposition, we are willing to cooperate in the face of threats to the country and public concern. We reject giving the government a blank cheque regarding the decisions it will take. We will decide in Parliament and in the appropriate forums. We need to strengthen coordination between the relevant bodies responsible for cyber security, and we have proposed redirecting some resources towards cyber security," continued the PD leader.
"There must be maximum cooperation on these issues; yesterday the country ground to a halt due to a massive volume of emails sent to schools. We cannot afford this; we simply need to put a protocol in place. Instead, we must tackle cyber-attacks, hybrid warfare and cyber-security by coordinating the actions of the relevant authorities to ensure a unified response," said Giuseppe Conte at the end of the meeting. “From this point of view, we must try to distinguish between different situations; we must not leave headteachers to make decisions on a case-by-case basis at their own discretion. We cannot have parents rushing to collect their children from school; we need protocols to manage all of this. The government has the tools, experts and technical solutions to manage all of this. The proposals must come from the government,” he added. “It is not up to us to make the proposals; it is up to the government.”
“We have offered to cooperate. We have asked that briefings to Parliament still take place,” said Nicola Fratoianni. “We asked why it had not been possible to take action on the issue of emails sent to schools, given that it had already happened. We have asked for an increase in funding for cyber security, perhaps by diverting funds from other defence budget items. We are waiting for proposals from the government and will then assess them.”
“For the first time, the Prime Minister has agreed to meet with the opposition. On the issue of cyber security, precisely because the threat is serious, we need to adopt a different approach,” commented Matteo Renzi, who believes that “yesterday’s ‘Misoginistan’ alert was one that could have been avoided with a good antivirus programme. Instead of spending money on Paragon to spy on journalists, let’s buy some good antivirus software. More competence and seriousness, and fewer cronies in decision-making positions,” he emphasised.
“Meloni told us that they are working on strengthening security measures and new protocols. We are under cognitive and cyber attack. We must move forward, as confirmed by the Prime Minister, with the launch of the ‘democratic shield’. The meeting went well and there was unity on these issues,” said Carlo Calenda at the end of the meeting at Palazzo Chigi.
Edoardo Ziello, a Vannacci supporter, was more outspoken: “We have reiterated to the Prime Minister that on all these issues close to the nation’s heart, Futuro Nazionale will be there and will put forward its own proposals; in fact, later today we will send her a document that our offices are currently drafting. The problem, however, is that yesterday, unfortunately, Italian families paid the price for the failure to implement the Vannacci approach; in other words, investing Italian money in the security of foreign nations does not solve the problems of Italians.”
Palazzo Chigi: “In the absence of concrete evidence following the email, do not proceed with the evacuation of the buildings”
"During the meeting of the Interministerial Committee for the Security of the Republic (CISR), convened for this afternoon at a technical level, a common operational protocol for handling security alerts will be defined." This was announced in a statement by Palazzo Chigi. “The protocol, which is already in force, applies to all public authorities and stipulates, as a general rule, that, in the absence of concrete evidence beyond the mere receipt of a mass email that would suggest a danger exists, buildings should not be evacuated. The Prefect retains the power to order evacuation measures should he or she have specific and concrete evidence indicating a situation of actual risk," explained Palazzo Chigi.
