After a series of attacks from the European Union, the populist Italian government received the backing of the U.S. Ambassador, who said its parties represent the democratic will of the Italian people.
U.S. Ambassador to Italy Lewis Eisenberg made his statements at a recent forum that was organised by Italian wire service Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata (ANSA), saying: “Beyond how each of us think of it, the last elections in Italy have shown that the people have spoken: this is democracy.”
“The current government in Italy is the quintessence of democracy in action,” Eisenberg continued, according to Il Giornale, adding that “a chemistry and an evident mutual understanding” existed between U.S. President Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.
Following the G7 summit in Quebec, Canada, in June, President Trump referred to the Italian leader as a “really great guy” and said: “He will do a great job – the people of Italy got it right!”
The latest attacks from the European Union on the Italian government revolve around its new budget, which proposes a 2.4 percent of GDP deficit. The budget announcement was slammed by EU Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, who warned it was “a budget which appears to be beyond the limits of our shared rules.”
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini hit back against the EU earlier this week, reminding Brussels that “This government has the approval of 60 percent of Italians.”
He went on to note the success of the populist coalition in tackling illegal migration: “Compared to last year there are more than 85,000 fewer migrants arriving in our country. This shows that they could have done this a year or even two years ago.”
The row is just the latest between the Italian government and the EU Commission in Brussels, with unelected EU Commissioners accusing the Italians and other populists in Europe of wanting to destroy the European project.
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