Cyberattacks and bomb threats. A unified approach to external threats

Giorgia Meloni was right to convene senior government officials at Palazzo Chigi today and to invite the opposition to share information on the alerts of recent days, starting with the false bomb threats reported yesterday at around 6,000 Italian schools. National security is not the exclusive preserve of the ruling majority, and discussing it together does not mean enlisting in the service of those in power. It would be even better if this discussion resulted in a united front against external threats: no leniency towards those who seek to influence our decisions, and no confusion between internal dissent and external aggression.

There is no need to attribute every sabotaged fridge or every school alarm to a single mastermind without evidence. If anything, we must distinguish, verify and protect. But uncertainty over the perpetrator of an attack cannot become an excuse to deny the need to defend ourselves. There is a useful precedent in France. On 18 September, Macron brought together party leaders at the Élysée Palace for a briefing with the intelligence services. The following day, Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella condemned Russia’s hostile actions and declared that they would not tolerate attempts by Moscow to dictate French policy through intimidation, threats and destabilisation. This was neither an endorsement of Macron’s programme nor a joint statement signed by all: it was a clear stance against Putin’s Russia. Dissent on foreign policy remains legitimate. External pressure does not.

It would be good to hear equally clear words in Italy. And this is not about assigning blame where responsibilities are unclear. We are asking for recognition that protecting schools, hospitals and infrastructure is a shared responsibility, and that the necessary investments cannot be dismissed as a militaristic whim. A joint statement will not stop a hacker or a mythomaniac. It will, however, serve to tell them that our divisions are not a door left open. For those who speak of sovereignty every day, defending it should be the very least they can do.