Ukraine and an inspiring great map of Middle Earth at a meeting of Meloni and Morawiecki

@ElentirENG ES 2·21·2023 · 7:22 0

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrived in Warsaw yesterday on an official visit to Poland, after which she is scheduled to travel to the Ukrainian capital.

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Two conservative rulers who strongly support the cause of Ukraine

This visit has particularly caught my attention because in it I was able to see two European politicians for whom I have great respect: the aforementioned Giorgia Meloni and the Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. Their parties, Fratelli d'Italia and Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, respectively, belong to the Group of European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), to which the Spanish party Vox also belongs, with which I have sympathized since its foundation. As we saw last year, the ECR is one of the groups most opposed to the Kremlin in the European Parliament, and is also one of the staunchest supporters of Ukraine's cause in the fight against the Russian invasion.

Morawiecki is by far the European politician who has lobbied the EU the most to help Ukraine and implement sanctions against Russia for its criminal aggression against the Ukrainian people. If Ukraine had to wait for the political sluggishness of Germany and France, by now the Russians would have overrun most of the country. The Italian Prime Minister has been in office for less time, but Meloni has stood out in this short time as a staunch supporter of the Ukrainian cause, with some very courageous statements in which she repeatedly recalls, that Ukraine fights for its freedom.

The special meaning of Italy for the Polish people

I know that this visit will have meant a lot to the Poles. Italy is not just any country for Poland: Dąbrowski's Mazurka, the Polish national anthem, mentions these two countries, recalling the march of General Jan Henryk Dąbrowski with his Polish Legions through Italian lands. Soldiers of the Second Polish Corps gave their lives on the slopes of Monte Cassino during World War II ("The red poppies on Monte Cassino instead of dew, drank Polish blood", a beautiful song says), a brutal battle of the which silently bears witness to the Polish cemetery of that Italian town, in which, to this day, the Italian and Polish flags fly over the graves of 1,072 Polish soldiers who gave their lives in that land, moved by an old Polish motto: "Za wolność naszą i waszą" (For our freedom and yours).

Meloni: "Poland is the moral and material border of the West"

Yesterday, Meloni had words of love and gratitude to the Poles and the Ukrainians: "Italy has supported Ukraine from the beginning, we have been there with all the financial, military and humanitarian support. Ukraine knows that it can count on us and Poland knows that it can count on us. Poland is the moral and material frontier of the West and it is a nation that we Europeans should thank for what it is doing for Ukraine." After the official meeting in the Prime Minister's Chancellery, Meloni and Morawiecki had a more informal meeting in a cafe. Curiously, the background of the room was decorated with a large map of Middle Earth, the legendary world by J.R.R. Tolkien.

"Turns out we're both Tolkien fans"

The author of "The Lord of the Rings" is my favorite writer, and I was surprised to learn that my coincidences with the prime ministers of Italy and Poland also include that literary taste. And it is that Morawiecki spoke last night about that informal meeting on his Facebook profile, posting the photos that you can see along these lines: "After the official ceremonies at the Prime Minister's Chancellery, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and I went out for tea to discuss some additional business. Turns out we're both Tolkien fans. We think together we'll defeat Mordor. We agreed that next time we'd go together for a real Italian cappuccino."

Tolkien hated allegories, and I know he wouldn't want us to do one between "The Lord of the Rings" and the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, but his work projected the author's Christian values and his love of freedom. Tolkien hated totalitarianism. On June 9, 1941, in a letter to his son Michael -who enlisted in the RAF to fight the Nazis-, Tolkien described Hitler as a "ruddy little ignoramus" and attributed to him an "demonic inspiration and impetus". The contempt that he manifested for the Nazi dictator was similar to the one he felt for communism. On December 9, 1943, during World War II, Tolkien called Stalin a "bloodthirsty old murderer" in a letter to his son Christopher. I can't imagine the old professor feeling even the slightest sympathy for a criminal tyrant like Putin.

Morawiecki: "Italy fully understands what is happening in Ukraine"

Regarding yesterday's meeting with Meloni, Morawiecki said: "Italy fully understands what is happening in Ukraine and feels how important it is for the future of the EU. Together we hand over weapons and talk for more deliveries so that peace can be established as soon as possible. We also feel a similar responsibility for Europe and its development". The Polish Prime Minister added: "Poland can count on Italy and Italy can count on Poland."

In a public statement, Morawiecki he also noted: "Ukraine must fight against Russia with the support of the countries of the free world, Italy and Poland speak with the same voice, together we feel this responsibility." The Polish Prime Minister added: "I am very happy that Italy, despite being so far geographically from Russia and Ukraine, understands how important supporting Kiev is for the future of Europe." Morawiecki also said that he shares with Meloni "democratic and Christian values, the vision of a Europe of homelands, of strong countries and not of utopian, federalist and centralist visions, with power centralized in Brussels. This is not how we see Europe".

"With Morawiecki there is also a personal friendship, a very similar and compatible idea of what Europe should be"

In turn, Meloni has pointed out that "with Morawiecki there is also a personal friendship, a very similar and compatible idea of what Europe should be, we want a political giant and not a bureaucratic one. We are working for a Europe of subsidiarity. And we have very compatible positions on the issues of competitiveness and immigration", adding: "The bond that exists between our two nations is strong" and it is "a bond that is meant to grow."