Meloni’s reasons. And those of Italian imperialism
Italy’s participation, as an “observer,” in the so-called Board of Peace is fraught with political significance.
The colonial nature of the structure is so blatant that it is obvious to everyone. A gathering of states invented by Trump, at Trump’s invitation, chaired by Trump himself with a lifetime appointment. A structure with no formal mission other than to celebrate its chairman and consign him to history. In fact, it is a structure that, under American direction, absorbs multiple and combined functions – to impose a reconstruction of Gaza in accordance with American real estate interests and those of the presidential business entourage; to definitively liquidate the Palestinian presence and all forms of resistance to the occupation; to guard the destroyed territory with a multinational military force; to impose a new Middle Eastern order that at the same time ratify the victory of the genocidal Zionist state, the complicit and self-interested subordination of the Gulf monarchies, and the demolition of what remains of the old ‘Iranian axis’. Finally, it aims to leverage the position of strength gained in the region to negotiate with rival imperialist powers (Russia and China).
The new ‘Trumpian UN’ effectively replaces the old caryatid of the real UN. But paradoxically with the green light provided by the UN. Russia and China abstained on the launch of the “Peace Council,” allowing it to bear the stamp of the United Nations. It is not without significance. On the one hand, it demonstrates the cynical complicity of all imperialist powers, old and new, in trampling on the Palestinian cause and covering up the continuation of genocide. On the other hand, it demonstrates the recognition of an American success in the region and the willingness to negotiate with the US on other issues, in the hope of compensation. This hope is contradicted by American imperialist acts of piracy in Venezuela, but it is fuelled by the ongoing negotiations between Russia and the US on the neo-colonial partition of Ukraine.
Of course, there is no shortage of contradictions and unknowns. Turkey’s ambitions for power and its increased role clash with the “Greater Israel” project. Israel’s annexation of the West Bank, using terror and expropriation, creates problems for Arab diplomacy. The uncertain future of Iran, ally of Russia, and China’s leading oil supplier, questions the choices of US imperialism, still uncertain between war and negotiation.
But Trump is marking out a new playing field in the balance of power. The position of strength gained by the US in the Middle East, on Palestinian blood, is unprecedented in recent history. The Board of Peace is the service structure which seals it.
Italy’s decision to participate in the Board is part of this complex picture. Of course, the political proximity to Trumpism of a post-fascist-led government weighs heavily in this decision – the only ‘sovereignist’ government among the major European countries, and the only imperialist government on the old continent to have jumped on the bandwagon, albeit in a mediated form with the Presidency of the Republic, and with the diplomatic expediency of the “observer” role. This is no coincidence. The political relations of Giorgia Meloni and the Italian right with the MAGA movement, and with the European reactionary right-wing, from Orbán to Abascal, are a material and not just a formal fact.
However, this political factor does not explain everything. In fact, it raises some questions. Why flaunt a special relationship with Trump at the most critical moment of Trump after the events in Minneapolis? Why flaunt it with Italian involvement in a Board that is objectively grotesque and unpresentable in the eyes of a large part of Italian and European public opinion? Why, in short, to risk its own image on the eve of a constitutional referendum that is decisive for the very future of the government?
The answer requires a broader view, beyond merely political or electoral considerations.
The Board of Peace will deal cards in the Middle East. It will mark balances, spheres of influence, and objectively enormous stakes – rebuilding of Gaza; business with the Gulf monarchies; economic and military relations with the Zionist state; distribution of huge contracts regarding logistics, infrastructure, military industry, and energy resources. Italian imperialism wants to enter the game with an enhanced role. Its special political connections with Trump (and Zionism), thanks to Meloni, becomes the lever for becoming a possible major business partner – a first-rate partner. The so-called ‘Mattei Plan’ is not just propaganda. It is the bid of large Italian companies for a new and broader role in the Middle East and Africa. ENI, Enel, Leonardo, and Fincantieri are reserving a place of honour at the table, at the expense of the old French colonialism, now in disarmament, and in a game of sidestepping with US imperialism.
The meaning of the participation in the Board of Peace is (also) this. It is no coincidence that the Confindustria newspaper, which is critical of Trump’s policy, states that this is basically the only ‘peace plan’ currently available, and that this is the main credit of the Board of Peace. In short – how can one stay out of the loop?
The Melonian business committee of Italian capitalism has therefore made its move. We do not know if it will win them votes. It will certainly bring profits, which is what really matters to capitalists. If today it is the right-wing government, the most stable government among the great powers of Europe, that is bringing in profits, then… welcome to the Meloni government and the Board of Peace. Tomorrow, we can always change horses if necessary; the essential thing is to have the reins in our hands. This is how the Italian big shareholders, the stock market players, and the CEOs of large companies think.
The lesson for our social class and its vanguard is clear and specular – a real alternative can be achieved only by freeing society from the dictatorship of the capitalists. The only government which can stand on the side of oppressed peoples is a workers’ government, against all imperialist powers, old and new. Starting with our own.
Communist Workers Party
