Amy Mek
In this RAIR exclusively translated video, Marco Schiesaro, the Lega mayor of Cadoneghe (Padua), filmed himself removing the flag of the European Union. The footage was tweeted out by Lega leader Matteo Salvini, who has urged the country to reconsider its relationship with the EU Parliament in Brussels following the coronavirus crisis and their lack of aid.
Schiesaro stressed that their party is not against Europe, but against a “Berlin-centric Europe, bank-centric, founded on finance and on the interests of the Germans.” Like many other Italians, Schiesaro hopes for a different Europe which courageously represents the people and not the interests of the banks and bureaucrats.
Despite the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen apologizing to Italy for a lack of solidarity over the Chinese coronavirus outbreak, the anger and protests towards the political bloc is mounting.
Many other Italian politicians have joined Schiesaro in the outrage targeted at the European Union by removing the EU flags in their towns.
The vice-president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies Fabio Rampelli removed the EU flag from his chambers, before replacing it with the Italian national flag.
Mayor Alessandro Aggio of Cona removed the EU flag from city hall.
The mayor of Campagnatico, Luca Grisanti called for a minute of silence for Italy’s coronavirus victims then removed the EU flag from their town hall.
The EU flag no longer flies on the flagpoles of the Municipality of Limone Piemonte: it was also lowered this by the mayor Massimo Riberi in protest.
The municipal administration of Valbondione removed the European Union flag from the facade of their town hall. Now, only the Italian and the Lombardy Region flags fly.
The mayor of Ziano, Manuel Ghilardelli, first invited fellow citizens to consume only Italian products, then removed the EU flag and warned, “It will return to wave only when we have concrete answers.”
Councilor for Tourism, Transport and Labor of the Liguria Region, Gianni Berrino, removed the Eu flag. Berrino is a member of the National Directorate of Fratelli d’Italia.
At a time when Italy is facing life threatening difficulty, its leaders and citizens feel the most abandoned by the European Union who has met none of their requests for help. The lack of aid from the EU during the coronavirus crisis has led to even more hostility and distrust.
Belgian economist Professor Paul De Grauwe seems to have rightly predicted that if the European Union did not show solidarity with member-states like Italy that have been hit hardest by the coronavirus, “the whole European project will disappear.”
The coronavirus outbreak could actually be the beginning of the end of the controversial globalist European Union project.
Transcript: thank you to Fousesquawk for the translation.
As you see, I have put two knots, two strings, on the flag…on the European Union flag, on the flag of a Europe that these days is a Europe that is not giving us a hand. It is not the Europe that we imagined.
It is not a Europe close to the people. It is not a Europe of the people. But it seems to be more and more the “garden” of Germany. I think that none of our grandfathers, none of our great-grandfathers thought to make a war to liberate Europe, and for the third time in 100 years, to consign it to Germany.
It is not the Europe that we imagined. Europe constructed and reborn, that is re-established on the misery and the slaughter of the Second World War. Great statesmen — Adenauer Schumann, de Gasperi, Spinelli — did enormous work to construct a great European project, a great area of peace, of solidarity, of protection, which could help the European people. The Europe of today is a Berlin-centric Europe, bank-centric, founded on finance and on the interests of the Germans.
Look, we are Italians. There are the Spanish people the French people, who along with us, ask for greater solidarity. What we are living through is a great tragedy for our population, for our time. We need a united Europe.
And the protest of the mayor of Cadoneghe, my protest, the protest of our administration, reflects the sentiments of millions of Italians, and the huge majority of our population of Cadoneghe. And it is a protest against the current model of Europe, which is blind and deaf to the needs of our fellow citizens.
It is a Europe which, essentially, is not helping our people. Therefore, the protest, which we wanted to carry out and want to make note of, is to suspend the European flag because does not represent us. The Europe of today does not represent us. And this suspension will remain, in hope that it will not become an elimination of the European flag out of protest, and I hope that others carry this protest forward, which is not anti-European, that is to “wrap up” the European flag, it doesn’t mean being anti-European. It means not conforming to the general thinking of a Europe founded on the banks, founded on Germany.
I am not anti-European. The huge majority of Italians are not anti-European. The huge majority of Italians do not want this Europe. They want a Europe that has sensitivity and a closeness to its… in respect to the needs and should be close to the needs of the people. Therefore, today’s protest is not against Europe but to want a different Europe, a Europe founded on the people and not on the banks.
This is amazing video coverage and translations. Thank you so much RAIR for the service you provide in bringing the news to the people.