Elio Vito at the civil rights demonstration of the “I Sentinelli” association, very close to the center-left (IPA)
The Affaritaliani.it interview with Vito (Forza Italia)
Among the deputies of Forza Italia, Elio Vito he is considered “the heretic”, due to positions that are often out of alignment with those of the party. Elected for the first time with the radicals and then Minister of Relations with Parliament in the Berlusconi IV government, Vito has supported several battles of the center-left, from the DDL Zan to the referendum on euthanasia, but no one expected to find him in the panel of one of the “Agora” launched by the Democratic Party: today 18 February, starting at 6.00 pm, the force fighter will discuss the right of citizenship together with members of the Dem left such as the MEP Pierfrancesco Majorino, the deputy Giuditta Pini and the councilor for Welfare of the Municipality of Milan Lamberto Bertolè.
Honorable Vito, although the “Agora” of the Democratic Party are open to all, I honestly did not expect to find an exponent of Forza Italia there. Why did you make this choice?
“I am very pleased that you have caught it, because in my opinion it is a really important thing. For me, of course, but also for the sense of the Agora, which as I have always said are a good initiative put in place by Enrico Letta precisely to stimulate confrontation even outside his party. This is why I very gladly agreed, in particular on the specific issue of the law on citizenship, a question that we have had to resolve for 15 years now ”.
Your political side doesn’t think exactly like you do, but it’s certainly not the first time …
“Indeed. This is why they call me the ‘heretic’ of Forza Italia ”.
Isn’t it by chance that he is considering joining the Democratic Party and therefore is gradually approaching it?
“No, no (laughs). Marriages and divorces are always made in two and mine with Forza Italia is long-standing. We will see, but in the meantime I look very carefully at what is happening in Italian politics. Is it I who have become a heretic or is it Forza Italia that has abandoned its liberal tradition? The things I say about civil rights, for example by supporting the Zan DDL, would certainly also have been said by Forza Italia in 1994! My party still claims to be pro-European today, but in Europe these issues are being pushed forward by the EPP! It was Ursula von der Leyen who made the laws against discrimination and challenged the behavior of Hungary and Poland. I think it is Forza Italia that has a problem with its liberal, pro-European and popular vocation… which is not clerical ”.
In this regard, his bill to abolish the Concordat is truly sensational: not even the far left dares so much …
“I presented it yesterday, February 17, because it was a particular date: the anniversary of Giordano Bruno’s stake and the day after the consultation rejected the referendum. I realize that it will be a long and difficult journey, but sooner or later we will also have to start talking about it. We are in 2022 and relations between State and Church must be regulated, avoiding interference such as the letter on the Bill Zan, an unprecedented thing, and the words of the Pope during the discussion on the law on the end of life. Nobody questions the independence and sovereignty of the Vatican State, but the Catholic Church must be treated in the same way as all the others, according to art. 8 of the Constitution, but without any privileges “.
Why do you think Forza Italia has moved from the liberal positions of its beginnings?
“The balance of power within the center-right has changed and Forza Italia has gone along with the sovereign wave. The question needs to be redefined. I am also a secularist in politics and I believe that alliances must be made on the contents: if Forza Italia really wants to be a liberal party, guaranteeing, attentive to civil rights, pro-European and Atlantic (and not pro-Russian), then it must ally itself with those who have consistent content. The current alliance is made with parties that have different contents from ours. Tajani says we have to stay in the center-right because of the electoral law, but for me we have to look at the contents: if you discover incompatibilities with the allies, they have to be resolved. And in my opinion there are these incompatibilities, and how “.
So you hope that Forza Italia will look towards other political forces, such as Italia Viva or the Pd itself?
“Italia Viva certainly not, because I don’t believe in centrist operations. I don’t like the idea of a center that, depending on the convenience, is deployed here or there. I repeat that we need to look at the contents and if on this we find more affinity with Pd and M5S, I believe that we can ally ourselves with them. The ideological barriers have now fallen and Forza Italia can afford it. I think that a choice of this kind also corresponds with the idea that citizens have of politics. On the other hand, in Europe the Popolari rule with the Social Democrats. Many say that we are condemned to stay with the Lega and Fratelli d’Italia: I do not rule it out, but only if they are consistent with our program. It all depends on what we want to do, even in the economic field “.
Are you referring to the concessions of bathing establishments?
“How can Forza Italia not be on the side of liberalization? I have the feeling that even on economic issues we are moving away from the origins. We risk finding ourselves defending over ten-year privileges of street vendors, taxi drivers and bathing establishments, which correspond to corporate interests. Also on this I would like to understand in which direction we are going. Meanwhile, I do not give up freely expressing my ideas, which is possible thanks to newspapers like yours and the support of many people on social networks, especially young people. I believe that there is a desire for change that must be grasped, otherwise the risk is that people will no longer go to vote, especially after the decisions of the Constitutional Court on referendums ”.
Speaking of votes, why didn’t you support Casellati, your party colleague, in her attempt to become President of the Republic?
“In Forza Italia there were 60/70 snipers. I, on the other hand, have said it publicly, with my usual frankness: I am ‘frank’… but not a ‘shooter’! The candidacy of the President of the Senate was not to be played for muscle strength tests. The whole management of the Quirinale affair by the center-right was frankly disastrous. The need to find a bipartisan agreement was evident. How do you say that, after so many years of ‘left’ presidents, we needed one of ‘ours’? This means distancing oneself from figures such as Einaudi, Pertini, Leone, Cossiga… they are not trinariciuti communists! Forza Italia should instead be in continuity with such figures, who have made the history of the Republic, but also with Napolitano, who was a moderate reformist ”.
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