Could the Russians be behind the fall of the Italian government? This is what the Italian daily implies La Stampa. The newspaper reveals secret contacts between the party of far-right leader Matteo Salvini and representatives of Russia. Exchanges with the aim of interfering in the Italian political crisis.
With our correspondent in Rome, Blandine Hugonnet
A dialogue last May aroused suspicion. A contact between a relative of Matteo Salvini and an important diplomat from the Russian Embassy in Rome.
During this discreet meeting, the representative of Moscow would have posed this question to the emissary of the far-right League: are your ministers ready to withdraw from the government?
Suffice to say that this is a request to bring down the executive, clarifies La Stampa who uncovers the case. The Russian shadow hangs over the crisis of the Italian governmentwrites the Italian newspaper bluntly.
The daily relied on documents from the intelligence services, which claim that this operation reveals Russia’s interest in destabilizing the balance of power in Italy.
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Russian interference two months before the political crisis and effective fall of the executive on July 21. It was when Matteo Salvini was preparing a trip to Moscow, without the knowledge of the government. The leader, close to Vladimir Putin for a long time, is singled out. The far-right boss immediately denied, and denounced ” foolery ” and of “ fake news to discredit him in the middle of the election campaign.
Did the Russians go so far as to dictate the decisions of the ministers of the League? “ We do not know it », confesses La Stampa.
Already, in recent days, Mario Draghi had warned of foreign attempts to weaken Italy’s opposition to the Russian president. For Lin Stampa, this final speech, delivered the day before the resignation of the Chairman of the Council, now takes on another dimension.